COMVC-19: A Program to protect healthcare workers' mental health during the COVID-19 Pandemic. What we have learned

OBJECTIVE: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a work and stress overload to healthcare workers, increasing their vulnerability to mental health impairments. In response, the authors created the COMVC-19 program. The program offered preventive actions and mental health treatment for the 22,000 workers of The Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMUSP). This paper aims to describe its implementation and share what we have learned from this experience. METHODS: Workers were able to easily access the program through a 24/7 hotline. Additionally, a mobile phone app that screened for signs and symptoms of emotional distress and offered psychoeducation and/or referral to treatment was made available. Data from both these sources as well as any subsequent psychiatric evaluations were collected. RESULTS: The first 20 weeks of our project revealed that most participants were female, and part of the nursing staff working directly with COVID-19 patients. The most frequently reported symptoms were: anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances. The most common diagnoses were Adjustment, Anxiety, and Mood disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a mental health program in a multimodal intervention was feasible in a major quaternary public hospital. Our data also suggests that preventive actions should primarily be aimed at anxiety and depression symptoms, with a particular focus on the nursing staff.

Threat, its impacts over survival systems, and related behavioral disorders

Defensive and appetitive motivation systems have evolved to propitiate more sophisticated interactions with environment threats and needs, such as nutrients, water, reproduction, and temperature regulation. In contact with survival-relevant environmental stimuli, organisms change as a whole to maximize fitness to that occasion. In this paper, an overview on defensive systems is described, as well as some relevant aspects of defensive states, including their impacts over appetitive functions. A parallel between these characteristics and what is called threat-related disorders in the present paper is drawn and, finally, these similarities are used as basis for a theoretical proposition that at least part of these disorders can be seen as persistent states of defense.

Funções de sobrevivência e sistemas orgânicos relacionados evoluíram para propiciar interações mais sofisticadas com ameaças ambientais e necessidades individuais, tais como nutrientes, água, reprodução e regulação da temperatura. Apesar de o termo "sistema" sugerir ações independentes de circuitos em face de tais estímulos, evidências sugerem que os organismos se alteram como um todo em situações relevantes para a sobrevivência, maximizando sua adequação à ocasião. No presente artigo, é apresentada uma visão global de tais alterações organísmicas em face de ameaças, bem como o impaco dessas alterações sobre funções apetitivas. Traça-se, também, um paralelo entre essas características e os transtornos relativos a ameaças. Por fim, as similaridades apontadas servirão como base para uma proposição teórica segundo a qual ao menos parte desses transtornos pode ser entendida como estados permanentes de defesa.

Early interventions for the prevention of PTSD in adults: a systematic literature review

Abstract Background Secondary interventions are implemented within a short interval following the occurrence of traumatic events with the purpose of preventing the onset of PTSD. Objective Analyze the results of studies that assessed post-trauma interventions in adults aimed at preventing the onset of PTSD or symptoms related to PTSD. Methods We performed literature searches using the search expression [(Early intervention OR secondary prevention) AND (Post traumatic stress disorder OR PTSD)] for articles published until October 2016. Among the references found, 29 fulfilled the selection criteria established for the review. Data were divided and analyzed according to the type of intervention: pharmacological or psychological. Results Psychological measures used in the studies lack homogeneity regarding the type of intervention and the assessment of intervention outcomes. Pharmacological interventions were less frequent and findings require replication, together with an expansion in the types of substances investigated. In general, many of the studies reviewed suggest that both pharmacological and psychological interventions are effective in the prevention of PTSD. Discussion Future trials should be focused on determining the best interventions for the secondary prevention of PTSD. The combination of psychological and pharmacological interventions for post-trauma patients poses opportunities and challenges that remain unexplored.

Personality traits and treatment outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder / Traços de personalidade e resposta terapêutica no transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo

OBJECTIVE: Comorbidity with personality disorders in obsessive-compulsive patients has been widely reported. About 40 percent of obsessive-compulsive patients do not respond to first line treatments. Nevertheless, there are no direct comparisons of personality traits between treatment-responsive and non-responsive patients. This study investigates differences in personality traits based on Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory scores between two groups of obsessive-compulsive patients classified according to treatment outcome: responders and non-responders. METHOD: Forty-four responsive and forty-five non-responsive obsessive-compulsive patients were selected. Subjects were considered treatment-responsive (responder group) if, after having received treatment with any conventional therapy, they had presented at least a 40 percent decrease in the initial Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score, had rated "better" or "much better" on the Clinical Global Impressions scale; and had maintained improvement for at least one year. Non-responders were patients who did not achieve at least a 25 percent reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores and had less than minimal improvement on the Clinical Global Impressions scale after having received treatment with at least three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (including clomipramine), and at least 20 hours of cognitive behavioral therapy. Personality traits were assessed using Temperament and Character Inventory. RESULTS: Non-responders scored lower in self-directedness and showed a trend to score higher in persistence than responders did. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that personality traits, especially self-directedness, are associated with poor treatment response in obsessive-compulsive patients.

OBJETIVO: Comorbidade com transtornos de personalidade tem sido extensamente descrita no transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo. Aproximadamente 40 por cento dos pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo não respondem a tratamentos de primeira linha. Não obstante, não existem estudos comparando diretamente traços de personalidade entre pacientes responsivos e refratários ao tratamento do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo. Este estudo investiga diferenças nos traços da personalidade baseados no Inventário de Temperamento e Caráter de Cloninger (TCI) entre dois grupos de pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo classificados segundo desfecho terapêutico: responsivos e refratários. MÉTODO: Quarenta e cinco pacientes refratários e 44 responsivos foram selecionados. Os indivíduos foram considerados responsivos se, após tratamento com terapêutica convencional, apresentaram diminuição de ao menos 40 por cento no escore inicial da Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, foram classificados como "melhor" ou "muito melhor" na Clinical Global Impressions; e mantiveram melhora por pelo menos um ano. Os refratários eram os pacientes que não atingiram redução de ao menos 25 por cento na Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale e tiveram a melhoria menor que "mínima" na Clinical Global Impressions após o tratamento com ao menos três inibidores seletivos da recaptura de serotonina, incluindo clomipramina, e ao menos 20 horas da terapia cognitiva-comportamental. Os traços da personalidade foram avaliados através do Temperament and Character Inventory. RESULTADOS: Refratários pontuaram menos em autodirecionamento e tenderam a pontuar mais em persistência. CONCLUSÃO: Este estudo sugere que os traços de personalidade, especialmente autodirecionamento, estão associados com a resposta pobre do tratamento em pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo.

Serotonina e sensibilidade a estímulos relacionados ao trauma no transtorno de estresse pós-traumático remitido com inibidores seletivos de recaptura de serotonina / Serotonin and sensibility to trauma-related stimuli in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors posttraumatic stress disorder

INTRODUÇÃO: Apesar dos Inibidores Seletivos da Recaptura da Serotonina (ISRSs) serem a primeira escolha no tratamento do Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático (TEPT) seu mecanismo de ação não é completamente compreendido. Possivelmente, um aumento na resiliência ao estresse esteja envolvido. Como a serotonina (5HT) ajuda a mediar as respostas ao estresse em outros transtornos ansiosos, o paradigma de Depleção de Triptofano Aguda (DTa) foi usado para diminuir a 5HT central em Pacientes com TEPT remitido com ISRSs. MÉTODOS: Dez pacientes com TEPT (diagnosticados pela Mini Entrevista Neuropsiquiátrica Internacional) que tiveram resposta completa com um ISRS (Escala de Impressões Clínicas Globais de Melhora 1-2 por pelo menos 3 meses) foram selecionados para o experimento. Os pacientes foram testados em duas ocasiões diferentes separadas por uma semana nas quais os pacientes receberam uma mistura contendo grandes aminoácidos neutros ou com (Depleção de Triptofano Falsa [DTf]; dia controle) ou sem triptofano (dia DTa). Auto relatos de ansiedade e humor, bem como medidas cardiovasculares, foram obtidos ao longo dos testes. Cinco horas e meia após a ingestão da mistura os pacientes foram re-expostos aos seus traumas através do procedimento de imaginação guiada de Pitman. RESLTADOS: Esses procedimentos provocaram elevados escores nas medidas avaliadas em ambos os dias, com respostas significativamente mais intensas no dia DTa conforme avaliado pelas Escalas Visuais Analógicas (DTa 47,57 [21,75] -v- DTf 20,71 [18,4]; p=0,001), Escala de Trauma de Davidson (29,4 [12,7] -v- 15,7 [7,79]; p=0,001), Inventário de Ansiedade de Spielberger versão Estado (28,9 [11,03] -v- 18,5 [10,13]; p=0,066, e Perfis de Estados de Humor (p<0,001). CONCLUSÕES: Esses dados são os primeiros a demonstrar que a depleção de 5HT piora as respostas subjetivas a re-experimentação de memórias traumáticas no TEPT e sugere que o aumento na função da 5HT induzida por ISRSs diminui os sintomas de TEPT...

INTRODUCTION: Although Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatments their mechanism of action is unclear, but possibly improvement of stress resilience is involved. As serotonin (5HT) helps regulate stress responses in other anxiety disorders, the acute tryptophan depletion (aTD) technique was used to lower brain 5HT in SSRSs-remitted PTSD patients. METHODS: Ten patients with PTSD (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview diagnosed) who had made a full recovery on SSRIs (Clinical Global Impressions Improvement Scale 1-2 for at least 3 months) were enrolled in the experiment. Patients were tested on 2 separate occasions a week apart - each session they received a drink containing large neutral amino acids either with (Sham Depletion [SD]; control day) or no tryptophan (aTD day). Self reports of anxiety and mood, as well as cardiovascular measures, were obtained throughout the tests. At 5.5 hours after the drink subjects were reexposed to their trauma using a modification of Pitmans imagery guided method. RESULTS: These procedures provoked elevated ratings on both days, with significantly more marked responses on the aTD day according to Visual Analogue Scales (aTD 47.57 [21.75] -v- SD 20.71 [18.4]; p=0.006), Davidson Trauma Scale (29.4 [12.7] -v- 15.7 [7.79]; p=0.001), Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (28.9 [11.03] -v- 18.5 [10.13]; p=0.066, and Profile of Mood States (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These data are the first to show that 5HT depletion worsens the subjective responses to reliving traumatic memories in PTSD and suggest that that SSRI-induced increases in 5HT function restrains PTSD symptoms, especially under provocation, i.e. 5HT helps mediate resilience to stress. As well as giving insights into how SSRIs work in PTSD, these data may also offer a translational approach to potential new treatments for this disorder.

Phobias, other psychiatric comorbidities and chronic migraine / Fobias, outras comorbidades psiquiátricas e enxaqueca crônica

BACKGROUND: Comorbidity of chronic migraine (CM) with psychiatric disorders, mostly anxiety and mood disorders, is a well-recognized phenomenon. Phobias are one of the most common anxiety disorders in the general population. Phobias are more common in migraineurs than non-migraineurs. The clinical profile of phobias in CM has never been studied. METHOD: We investigated the psychiatric profile in 56 patients with CM using the SCID I/P interview. RESULTS: Lifetime criteria for at least one mental disorder was found in 87.5 percent of the sample; 75 percent met criteria for at least one lifetime anxiety disorder and 60.7 percent of our sample fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for lifetime phobic avoidant disorders. Mood and anxiety scores were higher in phobic patients than in non-phobic CM controls. Number of phobias correlated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: Phobias are common in CM. Its recognition may influence its management. Early treatment may lead to better prognosis.

INTRODUÇÃO: As comorbidades psiquiátricas das enxaquecas crônicas são bem conhecidas. As fobias, transtorno ansioso mais comum, são mais prevalentes entre enxaquecosos do que entre não enxaquecosos. O perfil clínico de fobias em uma população enxaquecosa nunca foi estudado. MÉTODO: Estudamos aspectos psiquiátricos de uma população de 56 pacientes com enxaqueca crônica. RESULTADOS: Usando o SCID I/P para o DSM-IV, critérios diagnósticos para ao menos algum transtorno psiquiátrico durante a vida foram preenchidos por 87,5 por cento de nossa amostra, 75 por cento para ao menos um transtorno ansioso e 60,7 por cento para condições fóbicas em algum momento de suas vidas. Os escores de ansiedade e humor foram maiores entre os fóbicos e o número de fobias teve correlação positiva com o grau de ansiedade e depressão. CONCLUSÃO: Fobias são comuns na enxaqueca crônica e seu reconhecimento poderia influenciar seu manejo e melhorar seu prognóstico.