Impacto de la ola de calor del verano 2003 en la actividad de dos servicios de urgencias psiquiátricas / Impact of the summer 2003 heat wave on the activity of two psychiatric emergency departments

Introducción. La ola de calor se ha relacionado con efectos letales, especialmente en Europa durante el caluroso verano de 2003. Pero aparte del incremento de muertes y enfermedades, no existen datos específicos de los efectos psiquiátricos de la ola de calor. Metodología. Se compararon las urgencias psiquiátricas de dos hospitales de Barcelona durante los 15 días de la ola de calor con el resto del verano de 2003. Las principales variables del estudio fueron: urgencias totales, ingresos, diagnósticos, gravedad, variables psicosociales, tratamientos aplicados (incluyendo contención mecánica), y derivaciones. Resultados. No se encontraron diferencias en el número de urgencias ni de ingresos. Durante la ola de calor, hubo más pacientes con antecedentes psiquiátricos, más diagnóstico de abuso de alcohol y drogas, pero menos trastornos de ansiedad. También aumentó la proporción de pacientes con sujeción mecánica, pero sólo en la mitad de casos, esto ocurrió en pacientes con abuso de alcohol o drogas. El ítem «peligro hacia los demás» de la escala de gravedad se puntuó significativamente más alto en la ola de calor. Conclusiones. No hubo incrementos o disminuciones significativos en urgencias o los ingresos psiquiátricos, aunque los que acudieron tenían más antecedentes psiquiátricos. Durante la ola de calor hubo un cierto incremento significativo de violencia y de abuso de alcohol y drogas, pero menor porcentaje de trastornos de ansiedad y menos prescripciones de benzodiazepinas durante este período. Estos datos exploratorios indican el interés de considerar medidas preventivas médico psiquiátricas frente al fenómeno de la ola de calor (AU)

Introduction. Heat waves have been related with lethal effects, especially in Europe during the intensely hot summer of 2003. However, besides increased deaths and ailments, there are no specific data on the psychiatric effects of heat waves. Methods. We have compared psychiatric emergencies in Barcelona during a 15-day heat waves period with the rest of the 2003 summer days. The main variables of the study were total emergencies, admissions, diagnoses, Severity of Psychiatric Illness scale (SPI), psychosocial variables, treatment rendered (including use of restraints), and referrals. Results. No differences were found in the number of emergencies and admissions. During the heat wave, there were more patients with psychiatric backgrounds, more diagnoses of alcohol and drug abuse, but fewer anxiety disorders. The proportion of patients with mechanical restraint increased, but this only occurred in half of the cases in patients with drug or alcohol abuse. The item «dangerousness toward others» (part of the SPI scale) scored significantly higher during the heat waves. Conclusions. There were no significant increases or decreases in psychiatric emergencies or admissions. However, the heat wave was related to more violent behavior and higher drug and alcohol abuse. It should be noted that anxiety conditions and benzodiazepine prescriptions were lower during this period. These findings may be useful to implement medical-psychiatric preventive measures against the heat wave phenomenon (AU)

Immigrants and borderline personality disorder at a psychiatric emergency service.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have suggested that immigrants have higher rates of psychiatric emergency service use and a higher risk of mental disorders such as schizophrenia than indigenous populations. AIMS: To compare the likelihood that immigrants (immigrant group) v. indigenous population (indigenous group) will be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in a psychiatric emergency service and to determine differences according to area of origin. METHOD: A total of 11 578 consecutive admissions over a 4-year period at a tertiary psychiatric emergency service were reviewed. The collected data included socio-demographic and clinical variables and the Severity of Psychiatric Illness rating score. Psychiatric diagnosis was limited to information available in the emergency room given that a structured interview is not usually feasible in this setting. The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder was based on DSM-IV criteria. Immigrants were divided into five groups according to region of origin: North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Asia and Western countries. RESULTS: Multivariate statistical logistic regression analysis showed that all subgroups of immigrants had a lower likelihood of being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder than the indigenous population independently of age and gender. Furthermore, the rates of borderline personality disorder diagnosis were considerably lower in Asian and sub-Saharan subgroups than in South American, North African, Western or native subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that in the psychiatric emergency service borderline personality disorder was diagnosed less frequently in the immigrant group v. the indigenous group. Our results do not support the concept of migration as a risk factor for borderline personality disorder.

Pharmacokinetics and time-course of D(2) receptor occupancy induced by atypical antipsychotics in stabilized schizophrenic patients.

The (123)I-IBZM SPECT measured D(2) receptor occupancy (D(2)RO) in chronically dosed, stabilized schizophrenic patients and its relationship with antipsychotic (AP) pharmacokinetics (PK) over time is still unclear. The aims of this study were: 1) To define the relationship between striatal D(2) receptor occupancy (D( 2)RO) and plasma concentration (C(P)) in stabilized schizophrenic patients on clinically relevant doses using (123)I-IBZM SPECT; 2) To investigate the time course of AP-induced D(2)RO and corresponding C(P). Forty-six schizophrenic patients on their clinically required doses of risperidone, olanzapine, clozapine or quetiapine were included. D( 2)RO and C(P) were measured over time following a sparse-sampling experimental design, and individual PK and D(2)RO-time profiles were estimated using a population approach. Observed striatal D(2)RO and C(P) ranges were 28-75% and 9.4-60.5 ng/mL for risperidone, 22-84% and 8.6-89.5 ng/mL for olanzapine, 5-53% and 41.6-818.2 ng/mL for clozapine and 0-64% and 37.9-719.6 ng/mL for quetiapine. A PK-D(2)RO relationship was found for the four APs. D(2)RO pattern over time was stable for risperidone, olanzapine and clozapine but fluctuating for quetiapine. Stabilized schizophrenic patients show a wide range of both D(2)RO and C(P) at clinically effective doses of the four AP, suggesting that clinical response to these AP may be maintained with D(2)RO below 65%. D(2)RO patterns over time differ between AP. These results should be considered for accurate interpretation of D(2)RO measurements, proper design of studies and optimization of drug regimens for patients on AP treatment.

Adaptación al español de la escala de valoración de la no conciencia de trastorno mental (SUMD) / Spanish adaptation of the scale of unawareness of mental disorder (SUMD)

Introducción. El objetivo del trabajo es examinar la fiabilidad y la validez externa de la versión en español de la Escala de valoración de la no conciencia de enfermedad mental (SUMD). Metodología. Se utilizó un método de traducción-retrotraducción y la participación de un panel de profesionales para valorar equivalencia conceptual y naturalidad. La escala se compone de 3 ítems generales: conciencia de trastorno mental, conciencia de los efectos de la medicación y conciencia de las consecuencias sociales del trastorno, y de 17 ítems destinados a síntomas específicos que conforman dos subescalas: conciencia y atribución. Se valoraron 32 pacientes con trastorno esquizofrénico o esquizoafectivo, según criterios DSM-IV. Las evaluaciones fueron realizadas mediante el sistema de entrevista con observador. Se calculó la fiabilidad a través del coeficiente de correlación intraclase (CCI) y la validez externa mediante el coeficiente de correlación de Spearman entre las puntuaciones de la escala y una medida independiente de conciencia global de trastorno. Resultados. El CCI fue siempre superior a 0,70. Los ítems generales conciencia de trastorno y conciencia de los efectos de la medicación y la subescala conciencia de los síntomas se correlacionaron significativamente con la medida global de conciencia. Contrariamente, el ítem general conciencia de las consecuencias sociales del trastorno y la subescala de atribución no se correlacionaron significativamente, lo que apoyaría la idea de que la conciencia de trastorno es un fenómeno multidimensional. Conclusiones. La versión al español de la escala SUMD es conceptualmente equivalente y presenta una fiabilidad y validez similares a la original (AU)

Introduction. The aim of this paper is to examine the reliability and external validity of the Spanish adaptation of the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD).Method. A translation-back translation of the original scale was elaborated, and a panel of professionals participated to assess conceptual equivalence and naturality. The scale consists of 3 general items: awareness of mental disorder, awareness of the effects of medication and awareness of the social consequences of the disorder; and of 17 items related to specific symptoms, which make up two subscales: awareness and attribution. Thirty-two patients diagnosed of schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorder following DSM-IV criteria were evaluated. The evaluations were performed using interviews with an observer. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was calculated for the reliability analysis and the Spearman correlation coefficient between the SUMD scores and one independent score of global insight for external validity. Results. The ICC were all over 0.70. Convergent validity with the independent global measurement of insight was found for the general items of awareness of mental disorder and awareness of the effects of medication, and for the subscale on awareness of symptoms. The awareness of the social consequences of the disorder and the subscale on attribution did not correlate significantly with the global measurement of awareness (insight).These results are consistent with the hypothesis that awareness (insight) is a multidimensional phenomenon. Conclusion. The Spanish adaptation of the SUMD scale is conceptually equivalent and displays a similar reliability and external validity as the original version (AU)

Panic anxiety, under the weather?

The relationship between weather conditions and psychiatric disorders has been a continuous subject of speculation due to contradictory findings. This study attempts to further clarify this relationship by focussing on specific conditions such as panic attacks and non-panic anxiety in relation to specific meteorological variables. All psychiatric emergencies attended at a general hospital in Barcelona (Spain) during 2002 with anxiety as main complaint were classified as panic or non-panic anxiety according to strict independent and retrospective criteria. Both groups were assessed and compared with meteorological data (wind speed and direction, daily rainfall, temperature, humidity and solar radiation). Seasons and weekend days were also included as independent variables. Non-parametric statistics were used throughout since most variables do not follow a normal distribution. Logistic regression models were applied to predict days with and without the clinical condition. Episodes of panic were three times more common with the poniente wind (hot wind), twice less often with rainfall, and one and a half times more common in autumn than in other seasons. These three trends (hot wind, rainfall and autumn) were accumulative for panic episodes in a logistic regression formula. Significant reduction of episodes on weekends was found only for non-panic episodes. Panic attacks, unlike other anxiety episodes, in a psychiatric emergency department in Barcelona seem to show significant meteorotropism. Assessing specific disorders instead of overall emergencies or other variables of a more general quality could shed new light on the relationship between weather conditions and behaviour.

Myoclonic movements as a side-effect of treatment with therapeutic doses of clomipramine.

Myoclonic movements have been observed in depressed patients receiving therapeutic doses of clomipramine. Such movements, which appear in states of deep muscular relaxation such as sleep, do not appear to have any repercussion in the outcome of the depression and are reversible following withdrawal of the drug. In this study the plasma levels of clomipramine and desmethylclomipramine were determined and their possible relationship with myoclonus studied. No statistically significant relationships were found.