The interdisciplinary psychiatric ward round - Evaluation of a pilot project

While interdisciplinary ward rounds have been shown to improve patient care in surgical disciplines such as trauma surgery, comparable ward rounds have not yet been regularly established in clinical psychiatry. Here, we present results of the interdisciplinary psychiatric ward round initiated as a pilot project at our university hospital, which mainly took place as a review of patients' medical charts during the study period (July 3 to December 11, 2020) due to restrictions in connection with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Physicians from psychiatry, neurology, internal medicine/geriatrics, and clinical pharmacology were involved. A total of 295 reviews were conducted on 105 individual patients. A mean (± standard deviation) of 1.3 ± 0.8 recommendations were made per patient;these were distributed between 1.1 ± 0.8 pharmacological recommendations (PR) and 0.2 ± 0.2 general recommendations (GR). Among PRs, recommendations on antipsychotics were most common (14.4 % of all PRs), followed by antidepressants (8.9 % of all PRs). Among GRs, recommendations on diagnostic measures dominated (41.7 % of all GRs). Limitations of our pilot project mainly arise from the monocentric setting and the lack of a control group. Follow-up studies should examine whether interdisciplinary ward rounds in psychiatry can contribute to the improvement of patient-related outcomes and, among other things, reduce the number of adverse drug reactions. © 2021 Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Stuttgart.

Behavioural change in Prader-Willi syndrome during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder that in many cases is associated with mental health disorders, in addition to characteristic symptoms such as hyperphagia. The current Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic has led to massive restrictions in health care and social life worldwide. People with PWS represent a particularly vulnerable population group to these restrictions, with unknown impact on their mental health. METHODS: We conducted an online questionnaire to assess the impact of the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of people with PWS. RESULTS: One hundred and eight caregivers completed the survey about individuals with PWS. Individuals with PWS > 6 years (n = 89) were included for evaluation with regard to psychopathological change. Respondents frequently reported an increase in psychopathological symptoms associated with PWS during the lockdown, with 51.7% reporting increased temper outbursts, 43.8% showing signs of sadness, 38.2% being anxious, 55.0% more irritable, and 39.3% showing more food seeking behaviour. Adjusted for the type of accommodation food seeking behaviour and irritability is increased to a significantly lesser extent in people with PWS accommodated in specialised care facilities compared with those living in their family home. No significant difference could be found between the sexes. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on the mental health of individuals with PWS, evidenced by an increase in behaviours associated with PWS, including temper outbursts, food-seeking, and irritability, which again underlines their need for specialised care. Individuals living with their families were particularly vulnerable, indicating that they and their families are in special need of support.

[Psychopharmacotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Psychopharmakotherapie in Zeiten der COVID-19-Pandemie.

In view of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, patient care, including that of psychiatric patients, is facing unprecedented challenges. Treatment strategies for mental illness include psychotherapy and psychopharmacological interventions. The latter are associated with a multitude of adverse drug reactions (ADR); however, they may currently represent the preferred treatment due to restrictions regarding patient care (i.e. social distancing). Direct contact to patients may have to be reduced in favor of telephone calls or video conferences, so that new techniques in diagnosing and treating patients have to be established to guarantee patient safety. Patients should be extensively informed about relevant ADRs and physicians should actively ask patients about the timely recognition of ADRs. The use of psychotropic drugs may lead to an increased risk of developing ADRs, which are considered to be particularly unfavorable if they occur simultaneously with an acute infection or may even lead to an increased risk of infection. These include respiratory depression, agranulocytosis, intoxication by inhibition of metabolizing enzymes and venous thromboembolism, each of which may be associated with potentially fatal consequences; however, physicians should simultaneously ensure adequate efficacy of treatment, since the ongoing crisis may lead to a worsening of preexisting mental illnesses and to a surge in first onset of psychiatric disorders.