Prise en charge, dans les services d'urgences, des troubles psycho-comportementaux liés à la démence ­ Enquête nationale.

Résumé La prise en charge des symptômes psycho-comportementaux liés à la démence (SPCD) est complexe et peut nécessiter un recours à un Service d'accueil et d'urgences (SAU). Cette étude a pour objectif principal d'évaluer, au niveau national, les pratiques des médecins urgentistes dans la prise en charge des SPCD, leurs connaissances et leurs compétences dans ce domaine. Cette étude observationnelle et quantitative a été réalisée entre mars 2021 et juillet 2021, au moyen d'un questionnaire en ligne auprès de l'ensemble des médecins travaillant dans un SAU en France. Parmi les 188 urgentistes ayant répondu, 72,9 % se disent confrontés souvent ou très souvent à des patients présentant des SPCD, et 82,5 % déclarent avoir peu ou aucune connaissance concernant les SPCD. La prise en charge choisie en première intention est non médicamenteuse pour 63,3 % des répondants. Quand elle est médicamenteuse, les benzodiazépines de demi-vie courte sont préférées. On note l'utilisation, non négligeable, de neuroleptiques de première et deuxième générations et d'antihistaminiques. Il semble exister une bonne connaissance, par les urgentistes, des filières dédiées aux SPCD, mais peu d'entre eux y ont recours. Cette étude encourage donc la formation des urgentistes à cette problématique et le développement des filières dédiées aux SPCD. Abstract The management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is complex and may fall back on an Emergency Department (ED). The main objective of this study is to review the practices of French emergency physicians for the management of BPSD, their knowledge and their skills in this domain. This observational and quantitative study was performed between March 2021 and July 2021, using an online questionnaire, among all doctors working in ED in France. Among the 188 respondents, 72.9% declared that they were often or very often confronted with patients with BPSD, and 82.5% declared that they had little or no knowledge of BPSD. The first-line treatment was non-pharmaceutical for 63.3% of the respondents. When medication was used, short half-life benzodiazepines were preferred. There was also a significant use of first- and second-generation neuroleptics and antihistamines. Emergency physicians seemed to have a good knowledge of the pathways dedicated to BPSD, but few resort to them. This study therefore promotes the formation of emergency physicians to BPSD and the development of dedicated departments.

Paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines in the elderly.

The prevalence of paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines is estimated to be approximately 1% in the general population. The semiology can be very varied, diverse and misleading. Advanced age as well as cognitive disorders are classically described in the literature as risk factors for developing paradoxical reactions. However, this literature review only identified a limited number of articles focusing on the elderly and only one article on patients with neurocognitive disorders. This paradoxical situation raises questions as to whether these are unpublished clinical observations or whether the elderly population is really at risk, especially patients with neurocognitive disorders. Semiology can be confused with underlying neurocognitive disorders. Paradoxical reactions are ultimately only rarely or not evoked, leading to a very high risk of iatrogeny. It is therefore important to be aware of these paradoxical effects in order to be able to evoke them rapidly. The most striking semiological element would be the suddenness of onset of self-aggressive or hetero-aggressive behaviours.

[Paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines in the elderly]. / Réactions paradoxales aux benzodiazépines chez la personne âgée.

The prevalence of paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines is estimated of about 1% in the general population. The semiology can be very rich, diverse and misleading. Advanced age as well as cognitive disorders are classically described in the literature as risk factors for developing paradoxical reactions. However, the review of the literature has only identified a limited number of articles focusing on the elderly and only one article for patients with neurocognitive disorders. One may wonder about this paradox and whether these are unpublished clinical observations, or whether the elderly population is really at risk, especially patients with neurocognitive disorders. Semiology can be confused with underlying neurocognitive disorders. So, paradoxical reactions are ultimately only rarely or not evoked leading to a very high risk of iatrogeny. It is therefore important to be aware of these paradoxical effects in order to be able to evoke them quickly. The most striking semiological element would be the suddenness of onset of self-aggressive or hetero-aggressive behaviors.

Misuse of opioid analgesics in elderly patients: a review.

Opioid analgesic (OA) addiction occurs frequently among the elderly, and results in high morbidity and mortality due to geriatric pathologies associated with pharmacokinetic modifications. However, patients with this type of addiction are under-identified and specific screening tools should be more widely used to detect the risk factors for OA addiction. Before initiating an opioid prescription, exhaustive research into associated treatments (to track drug interaction) and opioid prescriptions by other clinicians (a phenomenon known as "doctor shopping") is required. Specific specialist care, as has been developed in the United States, is still scarce in France and treatment is provided through collaboration between geriatricians and psychiatrists. Optimisation of the treatment of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities is key to effective management.

[Analgesic opioids misuse in the elderly: A review]. / Mésusage d'antalgiques opioïdes chez le sujet âgé : une mise au point.

Analgesic opioids addiction (AOA) is very frequent in the elderly, and results in a high morbi-mortality due to geriatric associated pathologies with pharmacokinetics modifications. However, it is poorly detected in these subjects and specific screening tools should be widely used to detect the risk factors for AOA prevention. Before initiating opioid prescription, exhaustive search of associated treatments (to track drug interaction) and of opioid prescription by other clinicians (doctor shopping) are requisite. Specific care sectors, as developed in the United States are still scarce in France and care support is provided by the collaboration between geriatricians and psychiatrists. Optimisation of somatic and psychiatric comorbidities is a core part of the guidelines.

[If a patient has never experienced depression, should we tell him he has bipolar disorder? An updated systematic review on recurrent mania]. / Faut-il annoncer un diagnostic de trouble bipolaire à un patient qui n'a jamais connu la dépression ? Une revue systématique actualisée sur la manie récurrente.

CONTEXT: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and recurrent mood disorder. It is characterized by episodic changes in mood and energy/activity levels that are increased during mania/hypomania or decreased during depression. Recurrent mania (RM) is a mood disorder, which would be defined by at least two manic/hypomanic without depressive episodes. Despite a rich body of clinical descriptions, RM is still not integrated into the latest editions of disease classifications and continues to be subsumed under BD in clinical practice. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to pool data about RM prevalence within BD groups, identify differences between RM and BD and develop reliable knowledge about specificities of RM. Furthermore, we sought to identify the methodological bias inherent to RM studies. METHOD: Relevant publications were identified by a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect and PsychInfo databases according to PRISMA criteria, with no limitation of date. The following MESH terms were used: (mania OR manic) AND (unipolar) NOT (depress*) OR ("unipolar mania" OR "unipolar manic" NOT "depress*"). RESULTS: Twenty-three (23) of 186identified studies met eligibility criteria for our systematic review. The total sample included 1118RM subjects among 4796BD subjects. The weighted mean of RM prevalence was 23.2%. Compared to BD, RM was characterized by a predominance of men, an earlier age at illness onset, less rapid cycles and seasonal variations, longer manic episodes, less specific clinical features (suicide attempts, anxious disorders, catatonic symptoms, irritability, hyperactivity, racing thoughts), less family history of depression, more addictive comorbidities and worse response to lithium prophylaxis (P<0.05). However, many studies failed to replicate these significant differences. LIMITS: RM studies were mainly retrospective. The major bias of RM studies were the lack of consensus on the defining criteria for RM and the risk of unreported depressive episodes, both in charts that were reviewed in retrospective studies and in prospective studies with insufficient follow-up duration. CONCLUSION: Although the literature on RM remains sparse, many authors agree that RM should be distinguished from BD. RM would concern almost 1 in 4 BD patients. Furthermore, several clinical variables could differentiate this mood disease from BD and may orient the specific therapeutic choice. However, clinical criteria are still not reliable enough to make a diagnosis of RM. Further studies are required to replicate the results of existing studies and to adjust for the effect of methodological biases.

Description of the Treatment Course by Pregabalin for Anxiety in Patients With a Major Neurocognitive Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety symptoms frequently experienced by patients with a major neurocognitive disorder (NCD) are often treated with long-term benzodiazepines despite known adverse effects. Pregabalin has shown efficacy in generalized anxiety disorders but has not been studied in patients with a major NCD. The objective of this study was to describe the use of pregabalin for anxiety in patient with a major NCD and the impact of its use on the pharmacological treatment change. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using data of hospitalized patients in a cognitive-behavioral specialized unit between January 2015 and December 2017. Patients with a major NCD treated by pregabalin were included in this study. Data about the use of pregabalin (initiation and effective dosage, titration duration) and the use of other psychotropics were collected from the patients' medical records. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients were included (mean age, 79.6 ± 11.7 years; 66.7% women). The mean duration of pregabalin titration was 18.6 ± 1.4 days, and the mean effective dosage was 200.0 ± 130.8 mg/d (range, 50-700 mg/d). At admission (before pregabalin use), 78.8% of patients were treated with a systematic prescription of benzodiazepine. At discharge (with pregabalin use), a significant decrease in patients with systematic prescription of benzodiazepine was observed (78.8% vs 33.3%, P = 0.001). During hospitalizations, no pregabalin treatment has been discontinued for lack of efficacy or for tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and the safety of pregabalin to treat anxiety symptoms associated with neurocognitive disorders.

[Anxiety disorders in older adults]. / Les troubles anxieux de la personne âgée.

Prevalence of anxiety disorders is high in the elderly (between 3.2 and 14.2% of the subjects) with, by order of frequency, phobic disorders and generalized anxiety disorder rank ahead of panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety disorders very often start in adulthood and become chronic thereafter. It should be pointed out that each anxiety disorder has clinical characteristics that are modified with aging. Among the psychiatric comorbidity, depressive disorders and addictions, mainly to alcohol, especially stand out. Very few studies on anxiety disorders were specifically performed in the elderly. Drug treatments are mainly based on antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) and there is little consensus over the duration of the treatment. On the other hand, non-pharmacological treatments are proposed, such as supportive psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapies, with specific programs to improve anxiety disorders in the elderly.

[Specialized training in geriatric psychiatry during residency in France]. / La psychiatrie de la personne âgée au sein du diplôme d'études spécialisées de psychiatrie en France : résultat d'une enquête nationale.

Aging of the population is a growing concern in developed countries. Therefore, geriatric psychiatry has gradually emerged from general psychiatry. Many names have been proposed to term this sub-specialty: old age psychiatry (OAP), psychogeriatrics, geropsychiatry. A working group of the French federation of psychiatric trainees (AFFEP) set up an inventory of the theoretical instruction and clinical practice of OAP during the training of psychiatrists in France. Methods. A survey of both academic teaching and practical training for OAP was carried out in the 28 local AFFEP representatives of every French medical residency district, including overseas. We assessed the supply of general courses and seminars devoted to OAP during the training of French residents in psychiatry, and the offer of university or inter-university degrees as well as the possibility of specialized internship in every residency district. Results. 96% of French medical residency districts offered general courses of OAP with a mean volume of 11.5 hours along the four years of psychiatric training in France. Fifty percent of medical residency districts proposed at least one seminar devoted to OAP. Half of medical residency districts also offer a specialized university or inter-university degree. Concerning clinical practice, 86% of medical residency districts had one internship dedicated to OAP, in 39% of cases in teaching hospitals. Conclusion. Nationwide, there is an overall effort to make OAP available to French psychiatric residents by general courses and internship, but some disparity appeared in academic teaching (i.e. offering seminars and university/inter-university degrees) according to various residency districts.