Is the interferon-α-triggered depressive episode a self-limited kind of depression? Four cases of persistent affective symptoms after antiviral treatment in HCV-infected individuals.

OBJECTIVES: To discuss relevant aspects in a series of cases in which interferon-α-triggered depressive symptoms persisted up to 4 years after therapy cessation in HCV-infected patients. METHODS: Two experienced psychiatrists (AGA and LCQ) identified these four cases in a systematic evaluation program of HCV patients in the Hepatology Unit of the Teaching Hospital at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. Lifetime psychiatric diagnoses were confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI Plus), and a questionnaire was submitted in order to gather clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: In three out of the four cases identified, major depression diagnosis was reached after more than 12 months of interferon-α therapy interruption and, in one case, depression recurred 6 months after antiviral treatment cessation in a patient on antidepressants. The only case that referred a past history of psychiatric diagnosis reported no offer of mental health care despite the presence of a major depressive episode with psychotic features and suicidal behaviour during the cytokine usage. CONCLUSIONS: Interferon-α-triggered depression may remain undiagnosed even in tertiary university hospitals, may persist years after the antiviral therapy cessation, and may recur even in patients on adequate antidepressant treatment.

Can antidepressants prevent interferon-alpha-induced depression? A review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature about the efficacy of antidepressant prophylaxis during interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy. METHOD: We have performed a database search in PUBMED and ISI Web of Knowledge (1980-August 2009) for the available literature. The keywords "prevention" or "prophylaxis", and "depression", and "interferon", and "antidepressant" or "antidepressive agents" were used. RESULTS: The six eligible studies comprise three randomized controlled trials, two in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients and one in individuals with melanoma, and three open-label studies with HCV patients. The results of the randomized controlled trials suggest that antidepressant prophylaxis may blunt the magnitude of depressive symptoms in HCV patients and raise the rates of treatment completion. In melanoma patients, this preventive strategy may reduce the incidence of depression during IFN-alpha treatment. In addition, the open-label studies with HCV patients suggest that this strategy may reduce the onset of major depression in specific samples (current psychiatric diagnosis, major depression in remission, past history of IFN-alpha-induced depression) on IFN-alpha (re-)treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In the face of so few trials about the usefulness of prophylaxis with antidepressants before IFN-alpha treatment, there is not enough information to sufficiently and widely support this strategy to prevent depression. However, this approach may, nonetheless, bring some beneficial outcomes, if applied to specific patient groups.

Impact of psychiatric disorders on the quality of life of brazilian HCV-infected patients.

The aim of our study was to determine the impact of psychiatric comorbidities on the health-related quality of life of HCV-infected patients. Assessment of clinical, socio-demographic and quality of life data of the patients followed up at a Hepatology unit was performed by using a standard questionnaire and the SF-36 instrument. Psychiatric diagnoses were confirmed by using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Brazilian version 5.0.0 (MINI Plus). Evaluation using the MINI plus demonstrated that 46 (51%) patients did not have any psychiatric diagnosis, while 44 (49%) had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Among patients with a psychiatric comorbidity, 26 (59.1%) had a current mental disorder, out of which 22 (84.6%) had not been previously diagnosed. Patients with psychiatric disorders had lower scores in all dimensions of the SF-36 when compared to those who had no psychiatric diagnosis. Scores of physical functioning and bodily pain domains were lower for those suffering from a current psychiatric disorder when compared to those who had had a psychiatric disorder in the past. Females had lower scores of bodily pain and mental health dimensions when compared to males. Scores for mental health dimension were also lower for patients with advanced fibrosis. The presence of a psychiatric comorbidity was the variable that was most associated with the different scores in the SF-36, compared to other variables such as age, gender, aminotransferase levels, and degree of fibrosis.

A neuropsychological study comparing patients infected with HCV and HBV without psychiatric comorbidities.

Hepatitis C is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases worldwide, with well-documented extra-hepatic manifestations, such as a broad number of cognitive deficits. These impairments may be explained by psychiatric comorbidities, which have not been investigated properly in the literature. In order to elucidate a specific hepatitis C virus (HCV) induced cognitive impairment not related to mental disorders, neuropsychological performance of patients infected with HCV was compared with that of patients infected with hepatitis B virus cognitive impairment, especially psychiatric comorbidities. A total of 33 patients infected with HCV and 22 patients infected with HBV were included in the study. There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to age or years of education. The group of patients infected with HCV performed significantly worse on visuo-spatial memory tasks after adjusting for years of education and age. There were no significant differences between patients infected with HCV and patients infected with HBV with regards to other neuropsychological functions. The data indicate that patients infected with HCV patients have poorer visuo-spatial memory performance than patients infected with HBV, suggesting that the cognitive deficit may be specific to HCV infection and not to secondary comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Impact of psychiatric disorders on the quality of life of brazilian HCV-infected patients

The aim of our study was to determine the impact of psychiatric comorbidities on the health-related quality of life of HCV-infected patients. Assessment of clinical, socio-demographic and quality of life data of the patients followed up at a Hepatology unit was performed by using a standard questionnaire and the SF-36 instrument. Psychiatric diagnoses were confirmed by using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Brazilian version 5.0.0 (MINI Plus). Evaluation using the MINI plus demonstrated that 46 (51 percent) patients did not have any psychiatric diagnosis, while 44 (49 percent) had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Among patients with a psychiatric comorbidity, 26 (59.1 percent) had a current mental disorder, out of which 22 (84.6 percent) had not been previously diagnosed. Patients with psychiatric disorders had lower scores in all dimensions of the SF-36 when compared to those who had no psychiatric diagnosis. Scores of physical functioning and bodily pain domains were lower for those suffering from a current psychiatric disorder when compared to those who had had a psychiatric disorder in the past. Females had lower scores of bodily pain and mental health dimensions when compared to males. Scores for mental health dimension were also lower for patients with advanced fibrosis. The presence of a psychiatric comorbidity was the variable that was most associated with the different scores in the SF-36, compared to other variables such as age, gender, aminotransferase levels, and degree of fibrosis.

The effect of early virological response in health-related quality of life in HCV-infected patients.

Twenty-nine HCV-infected patients were treated with pegylated interferon alpha. Diagnosis was based on serum HCV RNA-PCR positive results and liver biopsy. All patients had elevated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase at the time of the study, but liver disease was compensated. Patients were evaluated at baseline treatment and after 4 and 12 weeks of antiviral treatment with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to exclude previous or current psychiatric diagnoses. Both patients and psychiatrists were blind to the HCV RNA status, and serum HCV RNA test results only became available after the visit at week 12. After antiviral treatment, 16 patients (55.2%) were classified as nonresponders and 13 (44.8%) were classified as responders. When compared to nonresponders, responders had a greater improvement in the HRQOL scores for the mental health domain (P < .019). Differences in other domains were not significant. The present study confirms that active viral infection is one possible reason for the poor Health-Related Quality of Life in this population.

High frequency of unrecognized mental disorders in HCV-infected patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study indexed the frequency of psychiatric disorders among hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. METHOD: HCV-infected patients treated at a university hospital in the northeastern region of Brazil were evaluated in a cross-sectional study using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. RESULTS: Ninety HCV-infected outpatients were included in the study and 44 (49%) had at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Among the 26 patients (59.1%) with a current psychiatric morbidity, 22 (84.6%) had gone undiagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: HCV-infected patients have a high frequency of unrecognized psychiatric comorbidity.

Incidence of psychiatric side effects during pegylated interferon- alpha retreatment in nonresponder hepatitis C virus-infected patients.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the incidence of mental disorders using pegylated interferon plus ribavirin retreatment in nonresponder hepatitis C virus-infected patients. METHOD: The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to evaluate 30 hepatitis C virus-infected interferon-nonresponder patients at baseline and following 4, 12 and 24 weeks of pegylated interferon retreatment. RESULTS: During the pegylated interferon/ribavirin retreatment, 5(16.6%) patients developed psychiatric side effects: 3(10%) were diagnosed with major depressive disorder, 1(3.3%) had a brief psychotic disorder and 1(3.3%) presented with panic attacks. CONCLUSION: This is the first prospective study evaluating the incidence of neuropsychiatric side effects during interferon retreatment of hepatitis C virus-infected patients, suggesting that the risk of acquiring serious psychiatric symptoms during retreatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) may not be higher than during the first antiviral therapy. This finding challenges the hypothesis that during a second treatment with IFN-alpha, patients with hepatitis C may be at greater risk for neuropsychiatric side effects than naïve patients.

Psychosis during peginterferon-alpha2a and ribavirin therapy: case report

Pegylated Interferon-alpha, combined with ribavirin, gives high sustained virological response in patients with hepatitis C virus, an important public health problem and one of the most frequent chronic infectious diseases worldwide. Though it has therapeutic benefits, treatment with IFN-alpha may be complicated by various side effects, especially symptoms of major depression and acute mania. Psychosis is a rare side effect, and its management usually includes discontinuation of IFN-alpha. We report a case of psychotic disorder that occurred during therapy with pegylated Interferon-alpha given associated with ribavirin. After good response to psychiatric treatment, it became possible to finish the anti-viral therapy.

Validade da escala hospitalar de ansiedade e depressão em pacientes com dor crônica / Validity of the hospital anxiety and depression scale in patients with chronic pain

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: Diversos estudos sugerem forte associação entre a ansiedade e a depressão com dor crônica, o que pode ser evidenciado pela utilização de escalas padronizadas para a detecção desses sintomas. O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar a sensibilidade e a especificidade da Escala Hospitalar de Ansiedade e Depressão (HAD), em pacientes portadores de síndromes dolorosas crônicas acompanhados no Centro de Dor do Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos. MÉTODO: Foi realizado um estudo descritivo transversal em pacientes que procuraram o Centro de Dor entre março de 2002 e julho de 2003, que constou de entrevistas utilizando a Escala HAD e o M.I.N.I. International Neuropsychiatric Interview Brazilian Version 5.0.0 (M.I.N.I. PLUS). RESULTADOS: Foram avaliados 91 pacientes. A utilização da HAD evidenciou que 61 pacientes (67 por cento) apresentaram ansiedade e 42 pacientes (46,2 por cento) apresentaram depressão. Os resultados da HAD mostraram que dos pacientes deprimidos, 38 (90,5 por cento) eram também ansiosos; enquanto dos ansiosos, 38 (62,3 por cento) também estavam deprimidos, sendo esta uma associação considerada como significativa pela análise estatística (p < 0,001). O M.I.N.I. PLUS revelou 40,7 por cento de transtorno do humor atual e 47,3 por cento de transtorno de ansiedade. Quanto à sensibilidade e a especificidade da HAD foram encontrados os seguintes resultados: sensibilidade 73,3 por cento para depressão e 91,7 por cento para ansiedade. Especificidade 67,2 por cento para depressão e 41,8 por cento para ansiedade. CONCLUSÕES: A escala HAD mostrou boa sensibilidade para avaliar sintomas de ansiedade e depressão, porém não evidenciou boa especificidade para diagnósticos de depressão e ansiedade.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several studies suggest a strong association between anxiety and depression with chronic pain. That can be demonstrated using standard scales to detect these symptoms. The objective of this study was to determine sensibility and specificity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) in patients with chronic pain syndromes followed at the Pain Center of the Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos. METHODS: A transversal, descriptive study was conducted with patients who sought to the Pain Center between March 2002 and July 2003. It was composed of interviews using the HAD Scale and the M.I.N.I. International Neuropsychiatric Interview Brazilian Version 5.0.0 (M.I.N.I. PLUS). RESULTS: Ninety-one patients were evaluated. The HAD demonstrated that 61 patients (67 percent) presented anxiety, while 42 patients (46.2 percent) presented depression. HAD results showed that among patients with depression, 38 (90.5 percent) also had anxiety; while among those with anxiety, 38 (62.3 percent) also had depression. Statistical analysis showed that this association was statistically significant (p < 0.001). M.I.N.I. PLUS revealed an incidence of 40.7 percent in current mood changes and 47.3 percent of anxiety. As for HAD's sensibility and specificity, we found the following results: sensibility of 73.3 percent for depression and 91.7 percent for anxiety, and a specificity of 67.2 percent for depression and 41.8 percent for anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The HAD scale showed good sensibility to evaluate anxiety and depression symptoms, but did not demonstrate good specificity for the diagnosis of depression and anxiety.

JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: Diversos estudios sugieren una fuerte asociación entre la ansiedad y la depresión con dolor crónico, lo que puede ser evidenciado por la utilización de escalas estandarizadas para la detección de esos síntomas. El objetivo de este estudio fue el de estimar la sensibilidad y la especificidad de la Escala Hospitalaria de Ansiedad y Depresión (HAD), en pacientes portadores de síndromes dolorosos crónicos con seguimiento por parte del Centro de Dolor del Hospital Universitario Profesor Edgard Santos. MÉTODO: Fue realizado un estudio descriptivo transversal en pacientes que se personaron en el Centro de dolor entre marzo de 2002 y julio de 2003, que constó de entrevistas utilizando la Escala HAD y el M.I.N.I International Neuropsychiatric Interview Brazilian Version 5.0.0 (M.I.N.I. PLUS). RESULTADOS: Fueron evaluados 91 pacientes. La utilización de la HAD evidenció que 61 pacientes (67 por ciento) presentaron ansiedad y 42 pacientes (46,2 por ciento) presentaron depresión. Los resultados de la HAD mostraron que de los pacientes deprimidos, 38 (90,5 por ciento) eran también ansiosos; mientras que de los ansiosos, 38 (62,3 por ciento) también estaban deprimidos, siendo esa una asociación considerada como significativa por el análisis estadístico (p < 0,001). El M.I.N.I. PLUS reveló un 40,7 por ciento de trastorno del humor actual y un 47,3 por ciento de trastorno de ansiedad. En cuanto a la sensibilidad y a la especificidad de la HAD, se encontraron los siguientes resultados: sensibilidad 73,3 por ciento para la depresión y 91,7 por ciento para la ansiedad. Especificidad 67,2 por ciento para la depresión y 41,8 por ciento para la ansiedad. CONCLUSIONES: La escala HAD mostró un buen nivel de sensibilidad para evaluar síntomas de ansiedad y depresión, sin embargo, no mostró una buena especificidad para diagnósticos de depresión y ansiedad.

[Validity of the hospital anxiety and depression scale in patients with chronic pain.]. / Validade da escala hospitalar de ansiedade e depressão em pacientes com dor crônica.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several studies suggest a strong association between anxiety and depression with chronic pain. That can be demonstrated using standard scales to detect these symptoms. The objective of this study was to determine sensibility and specificity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) in patients with chronic pain syndromes followed at the Pain Center of the Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos. METHODS: A transversal, descriptive study was conducted with patients who sought to the Pain Center between March 2002 and July 2003. It was composed of interviews using the HAD Scale and the M.I.N.I. International Neuropsychiatric Interview Brazilian Version 5.0.0 (M.I.N.I. PLUS). RESULTS: Ninety-one patients were evaluated. The HAD demonstrated that 61 patients (67%) presented anxiety, while 42 patients (46.2%) presented depression. HAD results showed that among patients with depression, 38 (90.5%) also had anxiety; while among those with anxiety, 38 (62.3%) also had depression. Statistical analysis showed that this association was statistically significant (p < 0.001). M.I.N.I. PLUS revealed an incidence of 40.7% in current mood changes and 47.3% of anxiety. As for HAD's sensibility and specificity, we found the following results: sensibility of 73.3% for depression and 91.7% for anxiety, and a specificity of 67.2% for depression and 41.8% for anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The HAD scale showed good sensibility to evaluate anxiety and depression symptoms, but did not demonstrate good specificity for the diagnosis of depression and anxiety.

Psychosis during peginterferon-alpha 2a and ribavirin therapy: case report.

Pegylated Interferon-alpha, combined with ribavirin, gives high sustained virological response in patients with hepatitis C virus, an important public health problem and one of the most frequent chronic infectious diseases worldwide. Though it has therapeutic benefits, treatment with IFN-alpha may be complicated by various side effects, especially symptoms of major depression and acute mania. Psychosis is a rare side effect, and its management usually includes discontinuation of IFN-alpha. We report a case of psychotic disorder that occurred during therapy with pegylated Interferon-alpha given associated with ribavirin. After good response to psychiatric treatment, it became possible to finish the anti-viral therapy.