Practical recommendations for improvement of the physical health care of patients with severe mental illness.

OBJECTIVE: Health care for the physical health of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) needs to be improved. Therefore, we aimed to develop policy recommendations to improve this physical health care in the Netherlands based on consensus (general agreement) between the major stakeholders. METHOD: A modified Delphi was used to explore barriers and subsequently establish policy recommendations with all key stakeholders. Consensus was sought between patients with SMI, their family carers, general practitioners, and mental healthcare professionals--all experts in the everyday practice of health care. RESULTS: Consensus was reached on policy recommendations regarding (i) improvements in collaboration between healthcare professionals, (ii) the need for professional education on the specific medical risks of patients with SMI, and (iii) the distinguished responsibilities of general practitioners on the one hand and mental healthcare professionals on the other hand in taking care of patients' physical health. CONCLUSION: This article provides a range of policy recommendations that could lead to considerable improvements in the physical health of SMI patients.

[Hidden diseases: tuberculosis in a woman with a severe mental illness]. / Tbc bij een vrouw met een ernstige psychiatrische aandoening.

Patients with severe mental illness often have only limited access to health care for physical symptoms. They have difficulty in organising their thoughts and articulating their requests for medical help; in addition, they often have a reduced perception of stimuli like physical pain. There may also be a language barrier and sometimes a cultural barrier. The case that we present demonstrates that these are not separate causes but they are interrelated in a complex manner. Screening for a latent disease such as tuberculosis reduces the risk of a delayed diagnosis stemming from the patient's inability to articulate a request for medical help. The physical symptoms of patients with severe mental illness can only be reliably interpreted when there is close cooperation between physicians and psychiatrists.

Evaluating interventions to improve somatic health in severe mental illness: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To present a systematic review of the evaluation of randomized interventions directed toward improving somatic health for patients with severe mental illness (SMI). METHOD: A systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, and PsycInfo was performed. The scope of the search was prospective studies for patients aged 18-70, published from January 2000 till June 2011. Randomized interventions directed toward improving somatic health for patients with SMI were selected. We excluded studies on elderly, children, and studies performed before 2000. Information on population, type of intervention, follow-up, outcome measures, and on authors' conclusions were drawn from the original articles. RESULTS: Twenty-two original studies were included, presenting four types of interventions: health education (n = 9), exercise (n = 6), smoking cessation (n = 5), and changes in health care organization (n = 2). To evaluate the effect of these studies 93 different outcome measures were used in 16 categories. CONCLUSION: Many interventions directed toward improving somatic health for patients with SMI have been started. These studies did not apply similar evaluations, and did not use uniform outcome measures of the effect of their interventions. Valuable comparisons on effectiveness are therefore almost impossible.

Influencing CYP enzymes to boost psychiatric treatment: a review on clinical evidence.

INTRODUCTION: Therapeutic drug monitoring to optimize blood plasma concentrations is advised for certain psychiatric drugs. The current standard is to change the dose based on the blood plasma concentration. We present an overview that blood plasma concentrations can also be influenced by adding co-medication based on pharmacokinetic knowledge. METHOD: We performed a systematic review in medical databases for pharmaco-enhancing strategies, and we present 2 cases on actively influencing CYP3A4 metabolism. RESULTS: 4 original studies were selected on strategies to influence CYP metabolism. 2 studies on influencing CYP2D6 metabolism, 2 studies on influencing CYP1A2 metabolism. In all studies an effect of this influence was present.Ample clinical evidence is present, but shows promising results. Pharmacokinetic knowledge can and should be used in clinical settings to optimize pharmacotherapy for vulnerable patients. Also the access to expensive medication can be increased by reduction of high dosage schemes.