A Novel Approach to Delivering Evidence-based, High-quality Care in Psychiatry Through an Electronic Integrated Care Pathway (eICP) Pilot.

Integrated care pathways (ICPs) are evidence-based decision support tools intended to reduce variation and improve quality of care. Historically, adoption of ICPs has been difficult to measure, as the pathways were outside of the electronic health record (EHR), where care delivery documentation and orders were completed. This Technology Column describes the innovative development and implementation of a diagnosis specific electronic ICP that directly embeds pathway steps into an EHR to facilitate order sets, clinical decision-making, and usage tracking. The pathway was implemented at a seven-hospital academic medical center, and details the technology, team structure, early adoption results, and future directions. As such, the importance of investing and organizing resources to create an eICP (e.g., time, technology, and specialized teams) to provide a user-friendly experience to support early adoption is underscored. Preliminary findings show that the eICP had consistent use in the first year of implementation. This manuscript is intended to serve as a practical guide to build eICPs within behavioral health service areas across institutions.

Reduction of Aggressive Episodes After Repeated Transdermal Nicotine Administration in a Hospitalized Adolescent with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Aggression remains a major cause of morbidity in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Current pharmacotherapy for aggression is not always effective and is often associated with morbidity. Nicotinic acetylcholinergic neurotransmission may play a prominent role in ASD pathophysiology based on human and animal studies, and preclinical studies show nicotine administration can reduce aggression-related behaviors. Transdermal nicotine has been used to treat agitation in neuropsychiatric conditions with cholinergic dysfunction. Here we report the use of transdermal nicotine as an adjunctive medication to treat aggression in a hospitalized adolescent with ASD. Nicotine patch was recurrently well tolerated, and reduced the need for emergency medication and restraint. These findings suggest further study of transdermal nicotine for aggression comorbid with ASD is warranted.

Eczematous nevus sebaceus: a report of three cases.

Meyerson's phenomenon is a well-documented inflammatory reaction described in a variety of cutaneous lesions, including the original description in nevocellular nevi (1). Such an inflammatory reaction was subsequently described in melanocytic and a sundry of nonmelanocytic lesions alike, including vascular malformations (2-11). We present three cases of infants with nevus sebaceus on the scalp, which were obscured by an eczematous, eosinophilic reaction reminiscent of that first described by Meyerson. Two of the patients had concomitant atopic dermatitis, but one had no association. Recognition of this secondary feature is important in establishing the correct diagnosis.