The clinical impact of a crisis resolution home treatment team.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of treatment provided by a Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team (CRHTT) in terms of preventing hospital admission, impact on service user's symptoms and overall functioning, as well as service user's satisfaction with the service. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the patient characteristics of those attending the CRHTT. METHODS: All the service users treated by the CRHTT between 2016 and 2020 were included. Service users completed the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS), and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-version 8 (CSQ-8) before and after treatment by the CRHTT. Admission rates were compared between areas served by the CRHTT and control, before and after the introduction of the CRHTT, using two-way ANOVA. RESULTS: Between 2016 and 2020, 1041 service users were treated by the service. Inpatient admissions in the areas served by the CRHTT fell by 38.5% after its introduction. There was a statistically significant interaction between CRHTT availability and time on admission rate, F (1,28) = 8.4, p = .007. BPRS scores were reduced significantly (p < .001), from a mean score of 32.01 before treatment to 24.64 after treatment. Mean HoNOS scores were 13.6 before and 9.1 after treatment (p < .001). Of the 1041 service users receiving the CSQ-8, only 180 returned it (17.3%). Service users' median responses were "very positive" to all eight items on the CSQ-8. CONCLUSIONS: Although our study design has limitations this paper provides some support that CRHTT might be effective for the prevention of inpatient admission. The study also supports that CRHTT might be an effective option for the treatment of acute mental illness and crisis, although further research is needed in this area.

Median and ulnar nerve conduction in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: A prospective, observational study assessed median and ulnar nerve conduction during pregnancy, to identify the optimum test for differentiating physiological effects of pregnancy from pathological carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). METHODS: Pregnant women (n=18) and age- and parity-matched non-pregnant controls (n=13) were recruited. Symptomatic and neurophysiological evaluations were performed. Median and ulnar nerve latencies and intrapalmar latency (difference between median and ulnar nerve latencies) were computed. RESULTS: Median nerve distal latency is more prolonged in pregnant women compared with non-pregnant controls. Median nerve latency is more prolonged in pregnant women with symptoms of CTS than in asymptomatic women. The difference between median and ulnar nerve conduction (normal <0.2 ms) discriminates well between symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: Intrapalmar latency is proposed as a useful diagnostic test for classification of carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy.

Suburban geriatric trauma: the experiences of a level I trauma center.

BACKGROUND: As the mean age of the US population increases, so does the incidence of geriatric trauma. Investigators have shown that the elderly have high morbidity and mortality rates associated with traumatic injuries. OBJECTIVE: To compare the severity of injury, mortality, and functional outcomes of geriatric patients with younger patients admitted to a suburban trauma center. METHOD: A convenience sample of trauma patients who were 65 years old or older was compared with trauma patients who were 35 to 45 and 55 to 64 years old. Demographic data, injury data, Injury Severity Scores, Revised Trauma Scores, length of stay, and functional ability outcomes were abstracted from a trauma registry in aggregate form and then analyzed. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 766 subjects (age 35-45, n = 223; age 55-64, n = 135; age 65 and older, n = 408) with a mean age of 64.6 years. A larger percentage of the elderly were victims of falls; younger trauma patients were more likely to be victims of motor vehicle crashes. Significant differences were found between age groups on Glasgow Coma Scale scores. Revised Trauma Scores, and length of stay. Significant differences were not found on Injury Severity Scores, mortality rates, or functional outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although anatomic injury severity of elderly patients was similar to that of younger patients, the elderly demonstrated greater physiologic compromise and longer hospital stays. Mortality rates were lower for the elderly group, but this result might be because a larger proportion of elderly patients were hospitalized with minor or moderate injuries.