Caregiver Burden Assessment in Primary Congenital Glaucoma.

Caregiver burden assessment in primary congenital glaucoma.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

Eur J Ophthalmol. 2013 Jan 31; 0
Dada T, Aggarwal A, Bali SJ, Wadhwani M, Tinwala S, Sagar R

Purpose. To assess the magnitude of caregiver burden and depression in primary caregivers of patients with primary congenital glaucoma.?Methods. Fifty-five primary caregivers of children diagnosed with primary congenital glaucoma were evaluated. The magnitude of burden on caregivers was assessed using a Caregiver Burden Questionnaire (CBQ). The overall aggregate burden and burden across 3 domains-socioeconomic, emotional, and psychological-was evaluated. Depressive symptomatology was evaluated using a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) standard questionnaire and graded from mild to severe. ?Results. The mean age of the presenting children was 8.11±46.71 months; all of them were male. The mean age of the study participants was 33.6±8.36 years (53 female, 2 male). Thirty-nine (71%) individuals were identified to have moderate aggregate burden and 3 (5%) had severe aggregate burden. Twelve (22%) subjects were noted to have moderate depression, while 6 of them (11%) had either severe or very severe grades of depression. ?Conclusions. Caregivers of patients with primary congenital glaucoma have significant emotional and psychological burden. Moderate to severe depression may be present in one-third of individuals giving primary care to children with congenital glaucoma.
HubMed – depression

Facilitating the integration of emotional states in patients’ personal disease experience with cancer: a new brief intervention for managing psychological distress.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

Support Care Cancer. 2013 Feb 9;
Annunziata MA, Muzzatti B, Giovannini L, Mella S, Bomben F, Flaiban C, Veronesi A

PURPOSE: This paper describes an intervention performed at an Italian oncological institute to manage psychological distress related to the oncological experience. Its objectives are to encourage and normalize awareness of the importance of emotional aspects of the cancer experience, to provide psycho-education to patients on the importance of psycho-social care in promoting well-being, and to introduce our psychology service and promote its usage. METHODS: The intervention consists of three consecutive steps: the psychological distress screening; the clinical interview, which is conducted according to Rogers’ client-centered model; and the collection of data regarding the appreciation and usefulness of the initiative, performed through a feedback questionnaire and the codification of the interview contents. RESULTS: Between September 2011 and February 2012, the intervention was administered to 484 consecutive new inpatients. Among them, the prevalence of psychological distress and its components of anxiety and depression are comparable to those found in the literature. The low percentage of participants who refuse the screening (15.4 %) as well as of those who do not wish to have the results returned to them (3.1 %), together with the high scores regarding the usefulness and effectiveness given to the intervention (all >80/100), documents the positive reception of this activity. Lastly, the analysis of the contents of the exit interview shows that a wide range of themes, far more varied and heterogeneous than just anxiety and/or depression symptoms, was discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Even though this was a clinical and not a research activity, it still offers important descriptive data.
HubMed – depression

A prospective open-label trial of paliperidone monotherapy for the treatment of bipolar spectrum disorders in children and adolescents.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2013 Feb 9;
Joshi G, Petty C, Wozniak J, Faraone SV, Spencer AE, Woodworth KY, Shelley-Abrahamson R, McKillop H, Furtak SL, Biederman J

RATIONALE: Treatment studies for the management of pediatric bipolar disorder are limited. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of paliperidone monotherapy as an acute treatment of mania and related symptoms in youth with bipolar spectrum disorders. METHODS: An 8-week, prospective, open-label paliperidone monotherapy trial to assess effectiveness and tolerability in treating pediatric bipolar spectrum and related disorders (depression, psychosis, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]). Assessments included the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI), Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Adverse events were assessed through spontaneous self-reports, vital signs, weight monitoring, and laboratory analysis. RESULTS: Fifteen youth with bipolar spectrum disorders (YMRS at entry: 32.8?±?6.1) were enrolled in the study and 11 (73 %) completed the 8-week trial. The total daily dose of paliperidone at study endpoint was 3 mg in 12 subjects and 6 mg in three subjects. Treatment with paliperidone was associated with statistically significant levels of improvement in mean YMRS scores (-18.7?±?13.9, p?HubMed – depression

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