Transforming Psychological Testing With Saccadic Responses: Internal Consistency is High for Rorschach and Facial Expressions.

Psychologists have long been interested in the underlying visual perceptual processes associated with forming responses to certain psychological tests, including the Rorschach Ink Blot Test, which modern users conceptualize as a conceptual problem-solving task. Accordingly, we used eye tracking technology to assess the internal consistency of saccadic responses to both the Rorschach Ink Blot Test and a facial expression task. Internal consistency was highest for eye Fixation Duration (FD) and Saccade Amplitude (SA), and both FD and SA measures in the Rorschach were positively related to the same measures in the facial expression task.

Impact of SMART Goals on Diabetes Management in a Pharmacist-Led Telehealth Clinic.

Although there is evidence demonstrating successful implementation of SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals in clinical settings, their impact on improving diabetes control has not been well-established. The primary objective was to determine the association between setting SMART goals and change in A1c among a Veteran population. This was an IRB-approved retrospective, case-control study.

Predictors of posttraumatic stress symptom severity and meaning made in treatment-seeking veterans.

Objective: Combat-exposed veterans risk encountering events that disrupt beliefs. To facilitate reduced discrepancy between prior beliefs and current trauma appraisals, veterans may engage in a process of meaning-making. Meaning-making can lead to positive outcomes, such as integrating the traumatic event into one's life narrative or adapting global meaning (meaning made) or elicit distress.

Urgent and Emergent Eye Care Strategies to Protect Against COVID-19.

Objective: This article presents additional strategies to the medical professional and support tactics to keep both the health care provider and patient as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Observations: Follicular conjunctivitis has been reported as an early sign of infection or during hospitalization for severe COVID-19 disease. It has been confirmed that COVID-19 is transmitted through both respiratory droplets and direct contact.

Counteracting the Effect of Stigma on Education for Substance Use Disorders.

The national failure to adequately respond to the opioid epidemic has exposed major deficits in the U.S. health care education system.

A retrospective cohort study of the prevalence of anxiety and agitation in schizophrenic smokers and the unmet needs of smoking cessation programs.

Achieving abstinence in schizophrenic smokers using a combination of medications and cognitive behavioral therapy is feasible; however, abstinence rates are significantly lower compared to the general population and studies are scanty. Additionally, maintaining sustained abstinence and preventing relapse is a major limiting factor and represents key tasks in managing tobacco dependence in schizophrenic patients. Several theories have been postulated to explain the higher tendency of tobacco use among schizophrenic individuals.

Using Optical Coherence Tomography in the Management of Postoperative Wound Leaks After Cataract Surgery.

Health care providers who participate in postoperative care of patients who have had cataract surgery should carefully evaluate for the presence of wound leak or wound gape as a potential complication.

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: The Learning Curve.

Living with diabetes mellitus and its complications can be challenging, but treatment by a specialized wound care staff adept in treating diabetic foot ulcers and educating patients about care can ensure favorable outcomes.

Buprenorphine Versus Methadone for Opioid Dependence in Pregnancy.

Objective: To evaluate maternal and neonatal safety outcomes for methadone and buprenorphine in the obstetric population.

Data Sources: A literature search of PubMed (1966 to March 2016) and EMBASE (1973 to March 2016) was completed using the search terms buprenorphine, methadone, pregnancy, opioid, and neonatal abstinence syndrome Priority was given to randomized controlled trials and trials directly comparing buprenorphine and methadone during pregnancy. The bibliographies were reviewed for other relevant articles.

Blueberries improve endothelial function, but not blood pressure, in adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Blueberry consumption has been shown to have various health benefits in humans. However, little is known about the effect of blueberry consumption on blood pressure, endothelial function and insulin sensitivity in humans. The present study investigated the role of blueberry consumption on modifying blood pressure in subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Bone health evaluation in a veteran population: a need for the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX).

Background: Approximately 2 million men in the United States have osteoporosis, but men are seldom evaluated or treated to prevent fracture. In the expanding veteran population, the fracture risk assessment tool, FRAX, could help reduce fracture risk. However, it is unknown how many veterans would meet the FRAX treatment threshold.

Compassion fatigue, moral distress, and work engagement in surgical intensive care unit trauma nurses: a pilot study.

Preparation for replacing the large proportion of staff nurses reaching retirement age in the next few decades in the United States is essential to continue delivering high-quality nursing care and improving patient outcomes. Retaining experienced critical care nurses is imperative to successfully implementing the orientation of new inexperienced critical care nurses. It is important to understand factors that affect work engagement to develop strategies that enhance nurse retention and improve the quality of patient care.

An experiential avoidance conceptualization of depressive rumination: three tests of the model.

This study examined an experiential avoidance conceptualization of depressive rumination in 3 ways: 1) associations among questionnaire measures of rumination, experiential avoidance, and fear of emotions; 2) performance on a dichotic listening task that highlights preferences for non-depressive material; and 3) psychophysiological reactivity in an avoidance paradigm modeled after the one used by Borkovec, Lyonfields, Wiser, and Deihl (1993) in their examination of worry. One hundred and thirty-eight undergraduates completed questionnaire measures and participated in a clinical interview to diagnose current and past episodes of depression. Of those, 100 were randomly assigned to a rumination or relaxation induction condition and participated in a dichotic listening task, rumination/relaxation induction, and depression induction.

Retinal arterial macroaneurysm causing multilevel retinal hemorrhage.

Background: Retinal arterial macroaneurysms are focal dilatations of the retinal arteries that present with varying degrees of retinal hemorrhage or exudation. They are most often associated with hypertension and may masquerade as many other retinal conditions.

Case Report: A hypertensive 59-year-old man presented to the clinic with a sudden onset of painless vision loss in the left eye.

Recent progress in macular function self-assessment.

Background: Patients that are deemed to be at risk for the development of choroidal neovascularization are frequently instructed to self-monitor their vision for symptoms that may signal the presence of choroidal neovascularization. Traditionally, the Amsler grid has been used for this purpose, but recent technological innovations have resulted in a number of potential alternatives that offer important advantages, including greater sensitivity, the ability to differentiate exudative from non-exudative disease, and quantitative analysis of test results.

Methods: The following technologies that could be employed for patient self-assessment of macular function in a home setting are reviewed: computerized Amsler grid, preferential hyperacuity perimetry, macular mapping test and noise-field campimetry.

Lipid levels and use of lipid-lowering drugs for patients in pharmacist-managed lipid clinics versus usual care in 2 VA Medical Centers.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of pharmacist- managed dyslipidemia clinics at 2 Veterans Affairs medical centers since the release of the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Panel Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) guideline compared with the usual care (UC) provided by other health care professionals in the same setting.

Methods: Analysis was performed through retrospective chart review of patients with a diagnosis of dyslipidemia who received care in either the Amarillo or Lubbock, Texas, pharmacist-managed lipid clinics (LCs) or UC from a primary care physician. Data from medical charts were abstracted for dates of service from July 2001 to December 2003 for 115 patients selected randomly from LC rolls matched with 115 patients with a diagnosis of dyslipidemia selected randomly from UC.

Training psychiatrists to diagnose and treat substance abuse disorders.

Addiction training in psychiatric residency programs needs expansion. Epidemiology research has shown that patients with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders are the norm in nearly all clinical settings. Unfortunately, traditional training approaches built around brief rotations on detoxification or intensive substance abuse rehabilitation units do not adequately train psychiatrists in long-term management skills, and may reinforce misperceptions that these patients do not respond to treatment.

Madarosis and facial alopecia presumed secondary to botulinum a toxin injections.

Purpose: : Botulinum neurotoxins are considered relatively safe therapy for treatment of inappropriate muscle spasms. As seen in this report, undesirable consequences may result.

Methods: : The author conducted a clinical interview and examination of the patient.

An abbreviated PTSD checklist for use as a screening instrument in primary care.

Although the importance of recognizing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in primary care has been well-established, routine screening for PTSD remains unfeasible for many primary care clinics because of the length of the available screening instruments. Thus, the purpose of this work was to develop and validate a brief screening tool for PTSD. In Study 1, four short forms of the PTSD Checklist-civilian version were identified that captured a majority of the variance in the measure.

Iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy of choroidal hemangioma.

Background: Circumscribed choroidal hemangioma (CCH) is a benign vascular tumor that is not associated with systemic abnormalities and its pathogenesis is unknown. Most choroidal hemangiomas remain stable in size, and treatment is periodic observation unless complicated by an overlying serous retinal detachment.

Case Report: A 43-year-old white man came to our clinic reporting decreased vision in the left eye for 1 year.

Relations between health-related quality of life and well-being: the gerontologist's new clothes?

Is the recent construct of health-related quality of life (HQL) distinct from what gerontologists have long referred to as "well-being" or "life satisfaction?" We addressed this question using data from men in the VA Normative Aging Study to examine relations among twelve scales assessing HQL and seven scales of well-being (WB). We hypothesized that these two constructs would be distinct factorially, and that the derived factors would have different correlates. Correlations between scales of HQL and WB were moderate.