Medico-legal risk associated with pediatric mental health telephone consultation programs.

Clinicians providing consultation through mental health telephone consultation programs express concern about the potential legal risk of the practice. In this survey of six state mental health telephone consultation program directors, we report the annual number of children referred for consultation and the number of lawsuits against consultant clinicians. Between 2004 and 2010, 3,652 children per year were referred nationally, and there were no medical malpractice lawsuits against clinicians related to telephone consultation program activity. Although medico-legal risk is always present, the findings of this national study suggest the risk for clinicians providing mental health telephone consultation may be lower than perceived.

Improving access to mental health care for children: the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate access to care for mentally ill children and their families is a persistent problem in the United States. Although promotion of pediatric primary care clinicians (PCCs) in detection, management, and coordination of child mental health care is a strategy for improving access, limitations in training, time, and specialist availability represent substantial barriers. The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP), publicly funded with 6 regional consultation teams, provides Massachusetts PCCs with rapid access to child psychiatry expertise, education, and referral assistance. METHODS: Data collected from MCPAP teams measured participation and utilization over 3.5 years from July 1, 2005, to December 31, 2008. Data were analyzed for 35,335 encounters. PCC surveys assessed satisfaction and impact on access to care. RESULTS: The MCPAP enrolled 1341 PCCs in 353 practices covering 95% of the youth in Massachusetts. The MCPAP served 10,114 children. Practices varied in their utilization of the MCPAP, with a mean of 12 encounters per practice per quarter (range: 0-245). PCCs contacted the MCPAP for diagnostic questions (34%), identifying community resources (27%), and consultation regarding medication (27%). Provider surveys revealed improvement in ratings of access to child psychiatry. The rate of PCCs who reported that they are usually able to meet the needs of psychiatric patients increased from 8% to 63%. Consultations were reported to be helpful by 91% of PCCs. CONCLUSIONS: PCCs have used and value a statewide system that provides access to teams of psychiatric consultants. Access to child mental health care may be substantially improved through public health interventions that promote collaboration between PCCs and child mental health specialists.

Prospective study of health-related quality of life and restorative proctocolectomy in children.

PURPOSE: Although restorative proctocolectomy has become the standard surgical treatment for ulcerative colitis and familial adenomatous polyposis, there are no prospective studies in children of the impact of this intervention on health-related quality of life. METHODS: A prospective study of health-related quality of life in children with ulcerative colitis or familial adenomatous polyposis undergoing restorative proctocolectomy was performed. Patients and their parents who agreed to participate completed standardized health-related quality-of-life surveys (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 and Child Health Questionnaire Parent Form) within one month before colectomy and approximately one year after completion of their surgery. RESULTS: Of the 60 patients who agreed to participate, 44 completed surveys at the appropriate time periods allowing comparison. The parents of 28 of these subjects also completed paired surveys. Before colectomy, patients with ulcerative colitis had substantially lower health-related quality-of-life scores, which were also mirrored in parental surveys. Following surgery patients with ulcerative colitis had significant improvement in 7 of 8 Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 patient subscales and all 6 corresponding Child Health Questionnaire Parent Form parental subscales of health-related quality of life. Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis showed improvement in the bodily pain subscale alone, whereas their corresponding parental surveys only showed improvement in the mental health subscale. CONCLUSION: There are clearly significant adverse affects on health-related quality of life in children with ulcerative colitis that dramatically improved following restorative proctocolectomy.

Botulinum toxin A: a novel adjunct treatment for debilitating habit cough in children.

Vocal fold injection with botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) may be used as an adjunct treatment for habit cough in children. We conducted a retrospective review of 3 cases involving children aged 11 to 13 years with habit cough treated with vocal fold injection of BTX-A. Injections of BTX-A to the thyroarytenoid muscles were effective in breaking the cough cycle in all 3 children. Their coughs recurred but were controlled with 4 to 8 sessions of behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy remains the first-line treatment, but BTX-A may be a useful complement to behavioral therapy in patients who fail standard treatments or in those with severe cough who have limited or delayed access to mental health professionals. This is the first report, to our knowledge, on the use of BTX-A in the treatment of a habit cough.

Exploring the hand test with medically ill children and adolescents.

Pediatric psychologists use the tools of assessment to evaluate the psychological functioning of youth with chronic and acute medical illnesses. This study is an exploration of the use of a performance-based measure, the Hand Test (HT; Wagner, 1983), with pediatric medical patients. A sample of medical inpatients (n = 27) and psychiatric outpatients (n = 24) were administered the HT, a self-report measure, and a parent-report behavior rating scale. Results indicate that the psychiatric group scored higher than the medical group on HT Aggression, Withdrawal, and Pathological scores. The Aggression (d = 0.90) and Pathological (d = 0.80) variables were particularly robust in differentiating between groups, but the Crippled variable did not differ between groups. Hierarchical logistic regression demonstrated the incremental validity of the HT over behavior ratings alone in the classification of clinical groups. Analyses indicated that the HT can add important information in the differentiation of medically ill children from those with psychological disturbance.

Physical therapy and cognitive-behavioral treatment for complex regional pain syndromes.

Complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS; type 1, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and type 2, causalgia) involve persistent pain, allodynia, and vasomotor signs. We conducted a prospective, randomized, single-blind trial of physical therapy (PT) and cognitive-behavioral treatment for children and adolescents with CRPS. Children 8 to 17 years of age (n = 28) were randomly assigned to either group A (PT once per week for 6 weeks) or group B (PT 3 times per week for 6 weeks). Both groups received 6 sessions of cognitive-behavioral treatment. Assessments of pain and function were repeated at two follow-up time periods. Outcomes were compared at the three time points through the use of parametric or nonparametric analysis of variance and post hoc tests. All five measures of pain and function improved significantly in both groups after treatment, with sustained benefit evident in the majority of patients at long-term follow-up. Recurrent episodes were reported in 50% of patients, and 10 patients eventually received sympathetic blockade. Most children with CRPS showed reduced pain and improved function with a noninvasive rehabilitative treatment approach. Long-term functional outcomes were also very good.

A controlled study of minimal-contact thermal biofeedback treatment in children with migraine.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of handwarming biofeedback (HWB) and stress management training in comparison to attention (handcooling, HCB) and wait-list control groups. Thermal biofeedback has been used in many pediatric migraine treatment studies and has demonstrated a consistent therapeutic effect. No published studies to date have compared this treatment modality with credible attention control using biofeedback technology. METHODS: Thirty-six children and adolescents (mean age: 12.8 years), as well as the mothers and fathers of these children enrolled in the study, were randomly assigned to the three groups. Thirty-four children completed treatment. Both treatment groups received four sessions of biofeedback training and a portable biofeedback device for home practice. Ratings of treatment credibility showed that the children rated the two treatments as equally credible. Assessment included anxiety and depression questionnaires for the children and both of their parents. RESULTS: Children who had been assigned to the HWB group were more likely to achieve clinical improvement in migraine after treatment than the children in the HCB group. Treatment gains were maintained up to 6 months after treatment. Home practice data reflected a general increase in temperature in the HWB group and a decrease in temperature for the HCB group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm the findings of earlier pediatric migraine biofeedback treatment studies and also provide support for the specific effect of treatments including stress management and HWB. Future studies with larger sample sizes will aid in delineating the appropriateness of HCB as a control treatment.