Cosmetovigilance: A review of the current literature.

The term "pharmacovigilance" defines the activities related to the collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse reactions occurring with medications. Recently, the spectrum of "-vigilance" has broadened to include safety of herbal products and cosmetic products as well. "Cosmetovigilance" was introduced as a new term used for defining surveillance carried out by industry to address the safety of cosmetic products. It was first used in literature by Vigan (1997) to refer to the monitoring of cosmetic product safety. Today, it is recognized globally as a concept of public health. For this systematic review, a PubMed search was conducted in July 2018 for the term "cosmetovigilance."

Intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitions in a non-clinical sample with problematic and normal eating attitudes.

The present study investigates intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitions in individuals with problematic eating attitudes (PEA) and individuals with normal eating attitudes (NEA). It was hypothesised that individuals with PEA will show higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitions compared to individuals with NEA, and that the two variables would be positively associated. A non-clinical sample of 116 UK-based university students completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS). Twenty-seven participants formed the PEA group and 89 the NEA group. Results overall supported the hypotheses, participants with PEA scored significantly higher on three of the five metacognition factors, total metacognition score and intolerance of uncertainty compared to participants with NEA. Positive correlations were also found between intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitions. Findings point towards further examining intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitions in the field of eating disorders. Changing metacognitions and targeting high levels of intolerance of uncertainty could contribute to better treatment outcome for individuals with eating disorders.

Co-morbid post-traumatic stress disorder in a substance misusing clinical population.

BACKGROUND: USA studies have reported high rates of co-morbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance (drugs and alcohol) dependence/misuse. Avoidance of trauma reminders and associated distress may be achieved by the use of drugs and alcohol, alternatively a substance abusing lifestyle might predispose such individuals to experience traumatic events. This may have implications for treatment and management of patients with co-morbid substance misuse and PTSD. There have been no British studies looking at the extent of traumatic life events and post-traumatic stress disorder amongst substance misusers, although high rates of reported sexual and physical abuse have been reported in two recent UK studies with drug- and alcohol-dependent patients in clinical settings. AIMS: (i) To investigate the prevalence of co-morbid PTSD in a UK substance use disorder (SUD) inpatient clinical population; (ii) to identify the characteristics, severity and types of trauma experienced; (iii) to compare SUD patients with and without co-morbid PTSD on substance use and history, psychological/psychiatric and social variables METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study involving interviews with patients and case note review. SUD inpatients were interviewed about traumatic experiences, PTSD, and addiction. RESULTS: Ninety-four percentage reported experiencing one or more PTSD criterion A traumatic experiences. 38.5% met criteria for current PTSD and 51.9% for lifetime PTSD. Significant differences between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups were found in PTSD and trauma-related variables, notably social variables and distress associated with traumatic experiences, but few differences were found in addiction severity (medical and psychiatric composite scores of the ASI) and psychiatric symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights not only the importance of assessment of trauma and PTSD amongst substance misusers but, conversely the need for the assessment of substance abuse among victims of PTSD. Co-morbid psychopathology is common, so trauma histories and PTSD symptoms may become embedded in other co-morbid psychopathology.

Substance use in the general hospital.

INTRODUCTION: People misusing substances are overrepresented in health settings. Substance misuse can also be an underlying factor complicating medical diagnosis and management. AIMS: (i) To establish the prevalence of substance misuse in the general hospital inpatient population; and (ii) to examine the relationship between medical diagnosis and substance misuse problem as identified by screening tools. METHOD: This study adopted a three-step screening approach including a prospective questionnaire survey, interview, and case note review. Subjects included all adult patients admitted to a London teaching hospital over a 1-week period. RESULTS: Seventy percent completed the questionnaire. Twenty-three percent was currently smoking, 14% was rated positive for alcohol misuse, and 12% positive for drug misuse. Only 65% of patients was screened for smoking, 54% for alcohol, and 9% for other substances. CONCLUSIONS: People misusing one substance were more likely to be misusing others, hence the importance of screening all patients for all substances. Doctors were screening a small percentage of patients and they identified and intervened with only the severe ones.

The preliminary development of a new self-report measure for OCD in young people.

The aim of this study was to develop a reliable self-report instrument to assess obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in young people. The children's Obsessional Compulsive Inventory (CHOCI) had good internal consistency, criterion validity and was significantly correlated with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS). This preliminary new measure could serve to provide a more efficient and accessible way of assessing OCD in young people.

Treating an opiate-dependent inpatient population: a one-year follow-up study of treatment completers and noncompleters.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of patients who completed (completers) inpatient treatment of drug dependence with those who failed to complete this programme (noncompleters). METHOD: Participants were assessed at admission using the Substance Abuse Assessment Questionnaire (SAAQ) to obtain information about the sociodemographic background, history of drug and alcohol use, physical health, mental health, offending behaviour, and interpersonal relationships. Follow-up interviews were carried out 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after discharge using the SAAQ-Follow-up. To form the three comparison groups, participants were divided on the basis of completion of detoxification and receipt of aftercare. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Significantly better treatment outcome was observed amongst those who completed detoxification and went on to spend at least 6 weeks in a recovery and/or residential rehabilitation unit. In contrast, there were no significant differences between noncompleters and completers who had no aftercare on the majority of measures of drug use during follow-up.