Lavender and dodder combined herbal syrup versus citalopram in major depressive disorder with anxious distress: A double-blind randomized trial / 中西医结合学报

BACKGROUND@#Major depressive disorder (MDD) accompanied by anxious distress is a chronic and disabling disorder. Its conventional drug therapies often have low patient compliance due to drug-related side effects. In Persian medicine, lavender-dodder syrup is one formula often recommended for such disorders.@*OBJECTIVE@#This study compares the effects of lavender-dodder syrup to the standard drug, citalopram, for treating MDD with anxious distress.@*DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION@#This six-week, double-blind, randomized, clinical trial was carried out in a psychiatric outpatient clinic. During the six-week intervention period, patients in citalopram group received citalopram tablets 20 mg/d plus 5 mL placebo syrup every 12 h; patients in group B received placebo tablets once daily plus 5 mL of lavender-dodder herbal syrup every 12 h.@*MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES@#Primary outcome measures, depression and anxiety, were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression/Anxiety Rating Scales, and were scored at the beginning of the study and at weeks three and six. Secondary outcome measures including response to treatment and remission rates were also compared between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#Fifty-six participants with MDD and anxious distress were randomly assigned to two groups. Mean depression scores significantly decreased in citalopram and herbal groups at weeks three and six (time effect: P < 0.001), although the observed changes were not significantly different between the groups (intervention effect: P = 0.61). Mean anxiety scores were not significantly different between the two groups at week three (P = 0.75). However, at the end of week six, the observed decrease was significantly higher in the herbal syrup group than the citalopram group (intervention effect: P = 0.007).@*CONCLUSION@#The herbal syrup is an effective and tolerable supplement for treating MDD with anxious distress.@*TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER@#IRCT2016102430459N1 on Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials.

Lavender and dodder combined herbal syrup versus citalopram in major depressive disorder with anxious distress: A double-blind randomized trial / 中西医结合学报

BACKGROUND@#Major depressive disorder (MDD) accompanied by anxious distress is a chronic and disabling disorder. Its conventional drug therapies often have low patient compliance due to drug-related side effects. In Persian medicine, lavender-dodder syrup is one formula often recommended for such disorders.@*OBJECTIVE@#This study compares the effects of lavender-dodder syrup to the standard drug, citalopram, for treating MDD with anxious distress.@*DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION@#This six-week, double-blind, randomized, clinical trial was carried out in a psychiatric outpatient clinic. During the six-week intervention period, patients in citalopram group received citalopram tablets 20 mg/d plus 5 mL placebo syrup every 12 h; patients in group B received placebo tablets once daily plus 5 mL of lavender-dodder herbal syrup every 12 h.@*MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES@#Primary outcome measures, depression and anxiety, were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression/Anxiety Rating Scales, and were scored at the beginning of the study and at weeks three and six. Secondary outcome measures including response to treatment and remission rates were also compared between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#Fifty-six participants with MDD and anxious distress were randomly assigned to two groups. Mean depression scores significantly decreased in citalopram and herbal groups at weeks three and six (time effect: P < 0.001), although the observed changes were not significantly different between the groups (intervention effect: P = 0.61). Mean anxiety scores were not significantly different between the two groups at week three (P = 0.75). However, at the end of week six, the observed decrease was significantly higher in the herbal syrup group than the citalopram group (intervention effect: P = 0.007).@*CONCLUSION@#The herbal syrup is an effective and tolerable supplement for treating MDD with anxious distress.@*TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER@#IRCT2016102430459N1 on Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials.

Educational needs assessment for psychiatry residents to prevent suicide: a qualitative approach

Suicide is a commonly encountered and stressful event in professional life of any psychiatrist. Suicide risk assessment is a major gateway to patient treatment and management. It is a core competency requirement in training of psychiatry. The present study designed to assess educational needs for suicide prevention in residents of psychiatry in two medical schools in Iran, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences [IUMS] and Shahid Beheshti Medical University [SBUMS] inTehran. This was a qualitative triangulation study, conducted in two steps. The first step was based on a phenomenological approach and the second was based on focus groups. The studied population was the psychiatric residents of IUMS and SBUMS. Purposive sampling was implemented until saturation. Interviews were performed. Colaizzi method was used to analyze the data. In the second step, participants attended a session, in which all final codes of the first step were discussed, and regarding the views, educational priorities and needs were listed. A total of 2047 codes, extracted from 31 interviews, analyzed through Colaizzi method, were categorized in three groups: Educational, facilities and processes, human resources. According to defects of current educational program, we suggest regular reevaluations and revisions of clinical training programs according to current needs

[Assessment of educational needs on suicide prevention in residents of psychiatry at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences: a qualitative study]

"Need assessment" is considered as the process of evaluation of needs in a specific domain, which is fundamental for quality improvement of health education and research. As suicide is one the most important problems in public health, it would be expected that all psychiatric residents should have adequate knowledge and skills to play their different roles in the field. This study was designed to assess educational needs of psychiatric residents at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences with the aim of determining the priorities and needs about suicide. This qualitative phenomenological study was based on triangulation method. Sixteen psychiatric residents at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences were recruited using purposive sampling method. Data were gathered by interview and group debates and analyzed based on Colaizzi's seven-step model. The findings of this study encoded 1015 codes, distributed in three main domains: "educational needs" [to recognize causes and risk factors, psychological education, and training practical skills against suicide], "needs in process and facilities" and "human resources needs". This study revealed multiple educational needs in the field of suicide. On the other hand, the current educational program could not fulfill the needs of psychiatric residents with regard to the contemporary realities of suicide. This finding mandates the revision of current educational programs

Development and assessment of validity and reliability of Persian version of quality of life in epilepsy inventory [Qolie-89]

The objective of the present study was to develop a Farsi version of Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory [QOLIE-89], and to assess its psychometric properties. The Farsi version of QOLIE-89, which was developed through translation/ back translation, along with Beck Depression Inventory-Primary Care [BDI-PC] and General Health Questionnaire-12 [GHQ-12] was administered to 75 epilepsy patients in Alzahra and Ayatollah Kashani clinics in Isfahan. The reliability and internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, construct validity was assessed by correlation with GHQ-12 and BDI-PC, and discriminant validity was confirmed by comparing scores for known groups. Cronbach's alpha was 0.96 for the total score, and varied between 0.70 and 0.89 for subscales. High correspondence with GHQ-12 [r=0.63, p<0.01] and BDI-PC [r=-0.55, p< 0.01] indicates construct validity, and differentiating between depressed versus non-depressed and drug-sensitive versus drug-resistant epilepsy patients, indicates discriminant validity of QOLIE-89. The results of the present study indicate that the Farsi version of QOLIE-89 has a good reliability and validity, and it could be used as a valid tool in clinical trials and research related to epilepsy

study of factor structure of the mood disorder questionnaire in a sample of Iranian pregnant women

The Mood Disorder Questionnaire [MDQ] has been developed as a self-reporting, brief, and easy-to-use screening instrument to improve identification of bipolar mood disorders. The goals of the present study were to examine the prevalence of this disorder and interrelationship of its symptoms by factor analysis of MDQ in a group of pregnant women in Iran. One thousand and eight hundred and ninety eight pregnant women in their third trimester were recruited to take part in a cross-sectional study. Trained local health workers administered MDQ for them. A principal component factor analysis was used to determine factors for relevant items of MDQ questions. The mean age of the participants was 25.4 +/- 5.1 years. About 3.9% of participants met the MDQ diagnostic criteria for bipolar mood disorder, and 19.6% scored positively for at least one Mood Disorder Questionnaire item and also had moderate to severe psychosocial impairment [second sample]. The first factor analysis on the whole sample revealed elevated mood, increased self-confidence and energy, increased social activity and disinhibited sexual behavior as significant. Irritability, talkativeness, insomnia, racing thoughts, distractibility, risky behavior and overspending were determined as important by the second factor analysis. Self-reporting of hypomanic symptoms by Iranian pregnant women revealed a relatively high prevalence rate of Bipolar Spectrum Disorders. Study analysis also showed there were two independent factors: an energized-activity factor and an elevated mood-thought racing factor