bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetic interactions of psychotropic medications in patients with schizophrenia suffering from atypical mycobacterial infections
Authors: Sabaté M. Betriu , González-Rodríguez A. , Guàrdia A. , Pérez-Macho E. , Pedrero A. Alvarez , Acebillo S. , Monreal J.A. , Vidal D. Palao , Labad J. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionMycobacterium kansasii is a nontuberculous mycobacterium that causes infection associated with past or current tuberculosis disease. Clinical syndromes and radiological findings are mostly indistinguishable from that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, thus requiring microbiological confirmation.ObjectivesWe report a case of a 44-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia and Mycobacterium kansasii infection.MethodsCase report and non-systematic narrative review from PubMed.ResultsCase report: Patient with schizophrenia who was admitted at the inpatient unit presenting psychotic exacerbation with high levels of excitement. Risperidone 6 mg/day and valproate 500 mg/day were initiated. He was also diagnosed with a M. kansasii lung infection, with radiological findings of past tuberculosis disease. Before the microbiological confirmation, it was necessary to start rifampicin, requiring an increase in doses of both psychotropic drugs. Review: (1)Comorbidity of mycobacterial infections and schizophrenia. Several studies have shown that people with severe mental illness have higher rates of tuberculosis compared with the general population. Although the relationship between tuberculosis and M. Kansasii infection is known, few literature is available with regard to the association of M. Kansasii and schizophrenia. (2)Interactions between antipsychotics and mood stabilizers with rifampicin. Rifampicin is mainly metabolized by CYP3A4 and transported by P-glycoprotein. Add-on with rifampicin have been reported to reduce clozapine and olanzapine plasma levels (despite both are metabolized by CYP1A2), reduce haloperidol and risperidone levels (possible role of P-glycoprotein in this interaction), as well as for valproate.ConclusionsTreatment of comorbid infections in people with schizophrenia remains a challenge. Antibiotics used to treat mycobacterial infections can modify the pharmacokinetic of psychotropic drugs.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
How to deal with refractory risk factors that depend on behavior?
Authors: Valido R. , Caldas F. , Ferreira P. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionHealth-related behavior correlates in critical ways with the current epidemic of chronic diseases. Modifiable behaviors increase the risk of chronic disease. Despite there are well-identified behaviors, efforts at behavior change are clinically-challenging and frequently ineffective.ObjectivesWe aim to establish how the current evidence and latest neuroscientific knowledge about behavioral change allow the most reliable assessment of patients with refractory health-related behaviors that negatively impact health outcomes.MethodsWe performed a literature review using Pubmed databases and UpToDate. The search included “behavioral change” and “health-related behavioral change”[MeSH Terms].ResultsHabitual behavior consists of behavioral patterns operating below conscious awareness and acquired through context-dependent repetition. Behavioral change is a complex multi-level field of intervention. The Health Belief Model allows a careful description of the patient’s perceived vulnerability, perceived disease severity, self-efficacy, and change motivation. The identification of social variables is critical since they correlated with poor health outcomes, particularly in chronic diseases. Temperament and character traits can have a strong influence on the difficulty of changing habitual behavior. Psychopathology, if present, must be addressed because it can be a notable factor of behavior instability and correlates negatively to health outcomes. Assertive and efficient communication skills in the clinical context are imperative. Motivational interviewing skills can allow effective behavioral change.ConclusionsInterventions addressing behavior change require careful, thoughtful work that leads to a deep understanding of the nature of what motivates people. Intervention based strategies focused on behavioral change must undergo further investigation in the future.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Analyzing the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among turkish immigrants treated at the neuro-psychiatric center riem Munich
Authors: Herbrüggen E.D. Cindik 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionInfectious diseases have been humanity’s constant problem throughout history and they have shown how vulnerable we remain. COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus pandemic, has already triggered a variety of psychological problems including fear, anxiety, and suicidal attempts. It has been hypothesized that immigrants who lost their job and have lower income or lower education level are more worried and fearful.ObjectivesThis paper aims to investigate the psychological conditions and stress level of immigrants in the NPZR. Moreover, the parameters influencing stress levels of the immigrants were analyzed.MethodsDemographics, level of stress and current psychological conditions of participants were gathered and analyzed through a structured survey. Besides, in-person interviews were conducted to explore the responses of the participants to receive more and deeper information.ResultsThe sample consists of 110 responders (45.3 % males; 51.8 % females). The findings of the study illustrated that while there was no relationship between gender of the immigrants and the level of stress, participants with low income (27.5 %) and unemployed immigrants (24.2 %) felt more worried and anxious. As time passes, the anxiety level of the participants decreased by 49.1 % but 40.9 % of the participants still experience severe anxiety.ConclusionsThe findings demonstrate that having low income or being unemployed as well as the cancellation of travel plans, are positively related with the depression level of the participants. The result of this paper show that more attention has to be given towards immigrants with low income as they are more vulnerable during the COVID-19 Pandemic.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Adding dimension to the diagnostic process: Demonstration of the DSM-5 checklist and PID-5 personality trait assessment scale
Authors: Egervári L. 
Published: February 2022

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is very common, with an estimated community prevalence of 1-3%, rising to 25% in psychiatric inpatients. The aim of this talk is to address the challenges clinicians face when diagnosing borderline personality disorder. The new dimensional approach to the classification of personality disorders adopted by ICD-11 diverges from the classical categorical case definitions used in the ICD-10 and DSM-IV/DSM-5 diagnostic frameworks, thereby significantly altering the concept of personality disorders. While the DSM-5 checklist is a well-known and widely used diagnostic entity by now, with the introduction of Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) a new assessment tool has emerged, providing the possibility of a more detailed description of personality functioning and traits. PID-5 is a 220-item self-rated personality trait assessment scale, assessing 25 personality trait facets and 5 main personality trait domains. This talk will focus on analyzing the difference between categorical and dimensional diagnostic work-up, using a case presentation to demonstrate the diagnostic processes and their outcomes.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Psychological impact and coping strategies of medical students during university closure due to COVID-19 in a state university in Sri Lanka – an online survey
Authors: Rohanachandra Y. , Seneviratne P. , Amarakoon L. , Prathapan S. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionLoss of routine, disengagement from peers and adapting to distant learning during the pandemic may lead to psychological distress in medical students. Psychological impact of the pandemic on medical students has not been assessed in Sri LankaObjectivesTo identify the psychological impact and coping strategies of medical students during the pandemic.MethodsAn online survey was done among 527 medical students in a state Medical Faculty in Sri Lanka. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure psychological impact.ResultsThe main worries among the students was upcoming exams (74.4%, n=389) and taking a longer time than expected to complete their undergraduate medical education (68.1%, n=356). 68.7% (n=362) of the respondents experienced difficulty in working up the initiative to do things and 62.6% (n=330) had tendency to overreact to situations. Depressive symptoms were present in 40.8%, anxiety in 34% and high levels of stress were seen in 24.7%. In 10.8% depression was severe and anxiety was severe in 10.3%. Depression (p<0.01), anxiety (p<0.05) and stress (p<0.01) were significantly higher in students with a past history of psychiatric disorders. Depression, anxiety or stress was not associated with the gender, ethnicity, family income or living circumstances. The main coping strategy of the participants was engaging more with family (73.4%).ConclusionsGiven the high levels of psychological distress, supportive strategies should be designed to minimize the psychological impact in this vulnerable group.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Changes in moral decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Enikolopov S. , Medvedeva T. , Boyko O. , Vorontsova O. , Kazmina O. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionStress can influence moral decisions.ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to evaluate whether the stress experienced by people during the COVID-19 pandemic can change moral decision making.Methods311 respondents took part in the Internet survey 30.03.20-31.05.20, including SCL-90-R, and a subset of moral dilemmas proposed by Greene J.D (30 dilemmas in Russian), with «footbridge dilemma» among them as a personal dilemma and «trolley dilemma» as impersonal. The relationship of utilitarian personal dilemmas choices with psychopathological characteristics was analyzed. Personal moral dilemma choices were considered separately, in subgroups with a high level of somatization (N=107) and a high level of psychopathological symptoms (N=76).ResultsThe results showed an increase in personal dilemmas choices: 2.84 mean utilitarian choice in March - April and 3.17 in May (Univariate Analysis of Variance, age, gender as Covariates, p<0.01). At the beginning of the study the groups did not differ in the number of utilitarian personal choices, and at the end of the study the number of personal choices increased in the subgroup with a high level of psychopathology (4.7 utilitarian choices in May) and became statistically higher than in other groups (ANOVA with Bonferonni correction). In the subgroup with a high level of somatization, personal choices slightly decreased by the end of the survey (2.68 choices).ConclusionsThe level of stress during the COVID-19 ambiguously affects moral decisions: a higher level of psychopathological symptoms leads to an increase in utilitarian choices and a high level of somatization leads to a decrease in utilitarian choices.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Psychological burden and variables affected by living with a person of high risk for COVID-19 during the lockdown period in Greece
Authors: Lyrakos G. , Pilafas G. , Strongylaki N. , Menti D. , Spinaris V. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionOn February 26, 2020 the Greek government established measures against the spread of COVID-19, which eventually escalated to the entire social and economic ‘lockdown’ of the state on March 23. The main message was staying home and protect the eldest who are more vulnerable to the virus.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to test the effect of living with a vulnerable person to specific psychological factors in order to be able to create future interventions for psychological well-being of the population.MethodsA convenient sample of 1,158 Greeks (280 males [24.2%] participated electronically during the ‘lockdown. A battery of questionnaires for stress resilience, acute stress, and satisfaction with life, well-being and effect on psychosocial health was used for the study. Analysis was performed with SPSS 24.ResultsIndividuals living in the same house with a vulnerable partner of parent were found to have statistically significant higher levels in acute stress disorder (Μ=39,4±15,4) than those living without (M=37.7±15.5) (t1156=2.125 p=0.03)The same happened with the effect on psychological health with the first Group having significantly higher score in the questionnaire (M=76.6±56,9) than the second group (M=69.1±55.1) (t1156=2.330 p=0.02). Stress resilience, satisfaction with life and well-being were not affected.ConclusionsAccording to our data individuals living in the same house with a vulnerable person for COVID-19 are more likely to develop acute stress and psychosocial impact. Stress reduction programs are needed in order to help this population with managing the results of the lockdown.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Investigating the role of socio-demographic variables to psychosomatic symptoms of a greek sample between the two domestic COVID-19 lockdowns
Authors: Pilafas G. , Lyrakos G. , Spinaris V. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe COVID-19 outbreak resulted in two respective social and economic lockdowns in Greece. According to international findings pressure and instability may lead to the sense of losing control over the situation, and in retrospect to the escalation of psychosomatic symptoms for the general population.ObjectivesThe present study examines whether five socio-demographic variables are significant to the variance of psychosomatic symptoms of the Greek population between the two domestic lockdowns.Methods192 participants, of whom 141 were females(73.4%) and 51 males(26.6%), provided their answers between October 5 and November 18, 2020 to the research team of the Psychiatric Unit of the General Public Hospital of Nikaia, ‘Ayios Panteleimon’, in Athens, Greece. The participants were asked about their (i)‘income’, (ii)‘occupation’, (iii)‘residence’, (iv)‘marital status’ and (v)‘education’. Psychosomatic symptoms were measured through the self-reported PSSQ-29 tool (Cronbach’s alpha= .955).ResultsOut of the five One-way Between-participants ANOVAs, none of the five socio-demographic variables showed any significant statistical difference in the level of psychosomatic symptoms.ConclusionsThe study provides some evidence against the protective and harmful role of the socio-demographic variables in psychosomatic health. It is noteworthy, that the conditions were not similar with previous studies. It might be possible that the COVID-19 worked as a phenomenon of mass panic for the Greek sample, and thus no socio-demographic background was either protective or harmful. In conclusion, the present study clearly highlights that none of them had any significant effect to the variance of psychosomatic symptoms for the general population.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Descriptive study on psychological first aid for COVID-19 patients’ relatives
Authors: Moreno M. García , Milas A. De Cós , Carreño L. Beatobe , Delgado M.E. Pelayo , Salvador M.T. González , De Arce Cordón R. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe presence of psychological impact on relatives of patients admitted for Covid-19 has been described. The effectiveness of psychological first aid in critical situations has also been described. The first psychological aid describes a human response supporting another person who is suffering. This intervention is indicated for those affected by a traumatic event.ObjectivesTo present a theoretical review about psychological first aid and to describe data about it on relatives of patients admitted for Covid-19.MethodsLiterature review about psychological first aid and data description of telephone intervention carried out by mental health professionals on family members of patients admitted for Covid-19.ResultsFrom an initial pool of 77 Covid-19 patients, 50 were selected as telephone contact with relatives was possible. Mean age was 68.9 years, 13 were female and 37 male. 90% were admitted in internal medicine department and 10% in intensive care unit. First telephone intervention in all cases was to introduce the psychiatrist in charge of the follow-up and provide contact number of psychiatry department. In 13 relatives` support, emotional ventilation and active listening was provided and 2 of them also received therapeutic guidelines. Further phone contact was required in 12 relatives. In follow-up phone calls, all relatives received therapeutic guidelines and 3 was referred to our outpatient clinic.ConclusionsFamily members of patients admitted for covid-19 may present emotional symptoms, many of them normal reactions in context of a crisis situation. A large percentage do not require a structured psychotherapeutic intervention but can benefit from a first psychological help.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Untangle those stethoscopes; never too early to start reflecting! Qualitative review of a reflective practice group for clinical undergraduate medical students
Authors: Jordan E. , Patel S. , Mcguire E. , Noonan P. , Mccarthy G. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionEquipping our medical students with as many tools as possible to cope with the challenges that they will inevitably face has never been more important than it is today.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a reflective practice (RP) group for medical students, particularly with adaptation to COVID-19 and transition to video.MethodsA pilot programme of RP for 3rd year medical students commencing their clinical placement was run by the Sligo Medical Academy, NUIG in Ireland between January – April 2020. This group for nine students was initially run face-to-face but pivoted to an online group in March 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected through one-to-one interviews with all student participants and the facilitator (n=10). Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.ResultsOur analysis identified four main discussion themes: transition to clinical environment, gender in the workplace, building professional identity and family and support systems. The students who continued the RP group over zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic particularly identified with the theme of support systems and solidarity. The smooth transition to zoom and its effectiveness in a time of social distancing were discussed. Identified challenges related primarily to timing of the RP group, particularly after a full day of placements or time differences for international students overseas.ConclusionsReflective practice programmes are not routinely offered to medical students in Ireland currently and this study gives recommendations on implementing and improving experiences of undergraduate training based on RP.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Prevention of substance abuse in youth: How social norms approach can help
Authors: Sönmez E. 
Published: February 2022

Drug and alcohol use in adolescence is a major global public health concern. Adolescence is the highest risk period for the initiation of drinking and substance use. Since the 90s, a growing body of evidence has indicated the influence of peers’ behaviours and attitudes in the development of youth tobacco, alcohol and drug use. Based on these studies, the social norms approach has been developed, mainly applying to the Western countries. The approach argues that how a student perceives his/her peers’ health-related behaviours and attitudes (such as substance/alcohol use) does have an influence on his/her own behaviour, and negative behaviours are generally overestimated among peers. Correcting these misperceptions may contribute to the prevention of youth substance/alcohol use. The applicability and discussions on the social norms approach will be presented in this talk, with two example studies. Both studies are conducted in Turkey, which is ranked lowest in terms of alcohol use and related problems among World Health Organization Europe zone countries, despite and increasing trend in use over the past decades. In both university and high-school samples, we found that students’ misperceptions about higher peer tobacco and alcohol use facilitated their own alcohol use. We conclude that targeting social norms may be part of a generalized preventive approach with regards to drug use and is of universal value. References: 1. SÖNMEZ, E. & AKVARDAR, Y. 2015. A Social Norms Approach to Substance Abuse Prevention in Youth “The more I think you drink, the more I drink”. Bağımlılık Dergisi-Journal of Dependence, 16, 86-94 (Turkish) 2. GÜNDÜZ, A., SAKARYA, S., SÖNMEZ, E., ÇELEBI, C., YÜCE, H. & AKVARDAR, Y. 2019. Social norms regarding alcohol use and associated factors among university students in Turkey. Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo), 46, 44-49.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Psychosis and COVID-19: About a case
Authors: Ponte T. , Castelao-Almodóvar S. , Sanz-Aranguez B. , Gil-Benito E. , Herranz J. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionCases of psychosis are being reported in people infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The relationship between psychosis and corticosteroids treatment is well known. However, there are relatively limited data so far correlating psychosis and SARS-CoV-2.ObjectivesTo describe a case of manic psychosis in a 55-year-old woman treated with corticosteroids for COVID-19 infection. Discuss the etiopathogenic factors involved in psychosis in patients infected by COVID-19.MethodsWe present the case of a 55-year-old woman, without previous psychiatric history, who was admitted to psychiatry due to a psychotic episode with maniac symptoms. Three weeks earlier, the patient had been admitted to Internal Medicine for bilateral SArs-CoV2 pneumonia, under treatment with high doses of corticosteroids. The patient presents a verbose and salty speech, euphoric mood with hyperergia, subjective increase of capacities, insomnia and delusional ideation with mystical-spiritual content with delusional interpretations and auditory hallucinations. The patient comes from Ukraine and she has been living in Spain for 20 years. She works as a household assistant. The patient relates various psychosocial stressors throughout her life.ResultsComplementary diagnostic tests were without alterations. Low-dose antipsychotic treatment is prescribed, with a rapid recovery within a week. Finally, the patient showed complete insight of the episode and was discharged from the hospital being asymptomatic.ConclusionsIt would be interesting to publish the reported cases of psychosis and infection by COVID-19 as well as to investigate the etiopathogenic factors that may be contributing to the development of psychosis in patients infected by the virus.DisclosureNo significant relationships.