Reliability and validity of a structured interview guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (SIGH-A).

The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, a widely used clinical interview assessment tool, lacks instructions for administration and clear anchor points for the assignment of severity ratings. We developed a Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (SIGH-A) and report on a study comparing this version to the traditional form of this scale. Experienced interviewers from three Anxiety Disorders research sites conducted videotaped interviews using both traditional and structured instruments in 89 participants. A subset of the tapes was co-rated by all raters. Participants completed self-report symptom questionnaires. We observed high inter-rater and test-retest reliability using both formats. The structured format produced similar but consistently higher (+ 4.2) scores. Correlation with a self-report measure of overall anxiety was also high and virtually identical for the two versions. We conclude that in settings where extensive training is not practical, the structured scale is an acceptable alternative to the traditional Hamilton Anxiety instrument.

Multicenter double-blind comparison of sertraline and desipramine for concurrent obsessive-compulsive and major depressive disorders.

BACKGROUND: Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) have demonstrated consistent efficacy in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), while agents that are primarily norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors have not. Comparable efficacy has been demonstrated for SRI and non-SRI antidepressants in uncomplicated major depressive disorder (MDD). This multicenter trial is the first comparison of an SRI (sertraline) and a non-SRI antidepressant (desipramine) in the treatment of OCD with concurrent MDD. METHODS: One hundred sixty-six patients diagnosed using structured clinical interviews and recruited from 16 treatment sites were randomly assigned to double-blind treatment with either sertraline (up to 200 mg/d) or desipramine (up to 300 mg/d) over 12 weeks. Measures of severity of OCD and MDD symptoms, as well as adverse effects of the medications, were monitored over the course of the treatment period. RESULTS: Patients assigned to sertraline responded significantly better at end point on measures of OCD and MDD symptoms compared with patients assigned to desipramine. Sertraline was also associated with a significantly greater number of patients who achieved a "robust" improvement in OCD symptoms (> or =40% reduction) compared with desipramine. More patients receiving desipramine than sertraline discontinued treatment because of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: The SRI sertraline was more effective in reducing MDD and OCD symptoms than the primarily norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor desipramine for patients with concurrent OCD and MDD.

Clinical psychopharmacy consultations: acceptance of recommendations on an adult inpatient psychiatric unit.

A retrospective chart review of consultations performed by a clinical pharmacist practicing in an adult psychiatric hospital was conducted. Data during the first 12 months of the service were collected from consultation reports, progress notes, physician's orders, laboratory data, and discharge summaries. Twenty-nine consultations were performed, resulting in a total of 135 recommendations. Of those, 125 were assessed and categorized. Of the recommendations, 113 (90.4%) were medication related and 12 (9.6%) were non-medication related. From the 125 recommendations, 99 (79.2%) were implemented and 26 (20.8%) were not. Particular categories of recommendations were also analyzed and had individual implementation rates ranging from 33.3% to 100%. Clinical pharmacists have previously documented their positive impact on patient care in a variety of settings, including psychopharmacy. The majority of recommendations made in this study were medication related with an overall implementation rate of 79%. This report illustrates the influence the clinical pharmacist has on the drug therapy of the psychiatric patient.

A 1 year double-blind placebo-controlled fixed dose study of sertraline in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy, over a 1 year treatment period, of three dose levels of sertraline and placebo in the treatment of non-depressed adult out-patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Following 1 week of single-blind placebo washout, patients (n = 325) from 11 sites following identical protocols were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with one of three fixed doses of sertraline (50, 100 or 200 mg) or placebo. At the end of 12 weeks, treatment responders (including placebo patients) were offered an additional 40 weeks of double-blind treatment at their assigned doses. Efficacy measures were the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the NIMH Global Obsessive Compulsive Scale, Clinical Global Impressions of Severity of Illness and Global Improvement and the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory. Patients in the pooled sertraline group showed greater improvement than placebo-treated patients on all efficacy measures, based on the endpoint analyses. Moreover, pairwise comparisons at endpoint revealed a significant effect on all three investigator-rated scales in patients receiving 50 or 200 mg of sertraline; in the 100 mg group, there was a significant effect on the NIMH Global Obsessive Compulsive Scale only. Patients completing 3 months of sertraline treatment exhibited excellent toleration and sustained improvement during an additional 40 weeks of therapy. Results support the safety, efficacy and tolerability of daily doses of 50-200 mg of sertraline in the long-term treatment of patients with OCD.