Effectiveness and optimal duration of early intervention treatment in adult-onset psychosis: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Contrasting the well-described effects of early intervention (EI) services for youth-onset psychosis, the potential benefits of the intervention for adult-onset psychosis are uncertain. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of EI on functioning and symptomatic improvement in adult-onset psychosis, and the optimal duration of the intervention. METHODS: 360 psychosis patients aged 26-55 years were randomized to receive either standard care (SC, n = 120), or case management for two (2-year EI, n = 120) or 4 years (4-year EI, n = 120) in a 4-year rater-masked, parallel-group, superiority, randomized controlled trial of treatment effectiveness (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00919620). Primary (i.e. social and occupational functioning) and secondary outcomes (i.e. positive and negative symptoms, and quality of life) were assessed at baseline, 6-month, and yearly for 4 years. RESULTS: Compared with SC, patients with 4-year EI had better Role Functioning Scale (RFS) immediate [interaction estimate = 0.008, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.001-0.014, p = 0.02] and extended social network (interaction estimate = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.004-0.018, p = 0.003) scores. Specifically, these improvements were observed in the first 2 years. Compared with the 2-year EI group, the 4-year EI group had better RFS total (p = 0.01), immediate (p = 0.01), and extended social network (p = 0.05) scores at the fourth year. Meanwhile, the 4-year (p = 0.02) and 2-year EI (p = 0.004) group had less severe symptoms than the SC group at the first year. CONCLUSIONS: Specialized EI treatment for psychosis patients aged 26-55 should be provided for at least the initial 2 years of illness. Further treatment up to 4 years confers little benefits in this age range over the course of the study.

Reliability and validity of the life functioning assessment inventory (L-FAI) for patients with psychosis.

PURPOSE: Functioning level is one of the major indicators of recovery in schizophrenia. It is important that the assessment of functioning is performed accurately. However, functioning evaluation is difficult due to the absence of specific anchor points in the widely used functioning assessment scales. We aimed to validate a new functioning scale, the life functioning assessment inventory (L-FAI), which assesses the functioning outcome of patients with psychosis in a more objective, and comprehensive manner. L-FAI assesses four life domains including work, social relationships, leisure, and homemaking. Specific and concrete anchor points are set in each of these domains. METHODS: The reliability and validity of L-FAI were assessed in 32 patients with psychosis. Opinions towards the scale were also obtained from experienced mental health professionals and members of a local advocacy group. RESULTS: Good inter-rater reliability (Cohen's kappa 0.67-0.97) and test-retest reliability (Cohen's kappa 0.67-0.86) were found. The scale has also been found to have good concurrent validity, correlating well with social and occupational functioning assessment scale (SOFAS) and role functioning scale (RFS) (Spearman's r 0.53-0.89). The scale was associated solely with negative symptoms (Spearman's r -0.48) but not with positive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: L-FAI is suited for both clinical and research purposes in evaluating functioning level in patients with psychosis. More research is needed to replicate the current study with a larger sample size.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese quality of life instrument (HK version) in Chinese and Western medicine primary care settings.

BACKGROUND: The Chinese Quality of Life Measure (ChQOL) had only been validated on a small number of selected subjects in Hong Kong and had never been tested in the Western medicine (WM) primary care setting. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To test the psychometrics properties of ChQOL(HK version) in both TCM and WM general outpatient clinics. METHODS: Three samples of Chinese adult patients [(1) 569 consulting TCM clinics for episodic illnesses; (2) 524 consulting WM clinics for episodic illnesses; (3) 205 consulting WM clinics for chronic disease follow-up] in Hong Kong were invited to complete the ChQOL(HK version) and the SF-36 Health Survey during their consultations and 2 weeks after consultations. The scaling assumptions, factor structure, convergent construct validity, reliability, responsiveness, and discriminatory power of the ChQOL were evaluated. RESULTS: Majority of items satisfied the scaling assumptions. A two instead of 3-factor structure was found with physical form and emotion facets loading on one factor. Convergent construct validity was confirmed with moderate correlations with SF-36 scores. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were satisfactory. The ChQOL(HK version) was able to detect significant improvements 2 weeks after consultations, and it was able to discriminate between groups with different illness severity, age, and sex. CONCLUSION: The ChQOL(HK version) was shown to have satisfactory validity, reliability, discriminatory power, and responsiveness in both TCM and Western medicine primary care settings. The validity of the 3-domain scaling structure needs further evaluation.

Capacity to make decisions on medication management in Chinese older persons with mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess if decisional capacity and the four decision-making abilities related to decisions concerning medication management were impaired among community-dwelling Chinese older persons in Hong Kong with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), as compared with cognitively normal older adults. METHODS: Two hundred and ninety-one Chinese community-dwelling older adults were recruited. The four decision-making abilities and decisional capacity were assessed by using the Chinese version of the Assessment of Capacity for Everyday Decision-Making (ACED) and independent clinician ratings based on the definition in the UK Mental Capacity Act 2005, respectively. RESULTS: Ninety-nine participants (34%) were diagnosed with MCI and ninety-five (33%) with mild AD. Although almost all (96%) of the participants in the MCI group were found to be mentally competent to make decisions on medication management in clinician ratings, their decision-making abilities as measured by the ACED were significantly lower than those of the cognitively normal controls. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest that abilities related to decisions on medication management are impaired before the clinical diagnosis of dementia is made. Use of specific and structured assessment of the relevant decisional abilities may enhance clinical judgment.

Magnesium 2000 postmarket evaluation: Guideline adherence and intraprocedural performance of a sirolimus-eluting resorbable magnesium scaffold.

BACKGROUND: The Magmaris bioresorbable magnesium scaffold was successfully tested in in-vitro and in clinical premarket studies. Subsequently the Magmaris postmarket program aimed to review intraprocedural data of at least 2000 patients to assess user preferences, guideline adherence and intraprocedural performance in clinical routine. METHODS: This international multicentre survey encompasses data from 356 hospitals across 45 countries. As part of the certification for Magmaris implantation, each hospital had to complete consecutive post-market evaluation forms of their first 10 commercial Magmaris patients. RESULTS: From June 2016 to May 2018, data on 2018 implantations were collected. Main reasons for selecting Magmaris was patients' life expectancy (67%, n = 1359) and low or not calcified lesions, (67%, n = 1357). Magmaris was successfully deployed in 99% of cases (n = 1995), predilatation was performed in 95% (n = 1922) and post-dilatation in 87% (n = 1756). Physicians rated the overall performance and the pushability as good or very good in 96% of cases (n = 1799). Guide wire friction, trackability, and conformability were rated as good or very good in 94% of cases, and crossability in 93%. The majority of patients were scheduled to receive dual antiplatelet therapy for up to 12 months. CONCLUSION: Generally, implantation guidelines were adhered to and theoretical advantages of the metal scaffold observed in in-vitro tests have translated into practice with good intraprocedural performance outcomes, confirming the controlled roll-out of this novel technology into clinical practice. SUMMARY FOR ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENT: The Magmaris 2000 program includes the first commercial cases at each hospital. Overall, data on 2018 implantations were collected. The high rate of pre- and post-dilatation as well as other parameters confirm that generally the implantation guidelines are adhered to and the good intraprocedural performance (rated as good or very good in 96%) confirm the theoretical advantages of a metallic scaffold in practice.

Responsiveness of the Chinese Quality of Life Instrument in patients with congestive heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: The Chinese Quality of Life Instrument (ChQOL) was developed as a valid generic health status instrument based on the well-established theory of health in Chinese medicine. Psychometric properties of the ChQOL were good. In the present study, the responsiveness of the ChQOL in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) were investigated and compared with two generic questionnaires, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-BREF), as well as one disease-specific questionnaire, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHF). METHODS: Thirty-nine in-patients with CHF who had undergone treatment with integrative medicine were recruited. The health status measurements were performed at enrolment and after a 4-week treatment. The following responsiveness indices were used: the effect size (ES) and standardized response mean (SRM). All patients were classified into those groups with stable measures and those groups with changes after a 4-week treatment, based upon both the doctor's global rating of changes in heart function tests, and the patient's global rating of changes in overall quality of life. RESULTS: All domains of the ChQOL showed significant improvement. In the comparison of the responsiveness indices, the ChQOL was regarded as more responsive than the WHOQOL-BREF or SF-36 utility, but it was less responsive than the MLHF. CONCLUSIONS: The ChQOL was better in sensitivity and responsiveness for assessing congestive heart failure as a generic measure than the SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF. The ChQOL is considered suitable as an outcome measure for clinical trials in patients with congestive heart failure.

Development and validation of the Chinese Quality of Life Instrument.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the development of the Chinese Quality of Life Instrument (ChQOL) which is a self-report health status instrument. Chinese Medicine relies very much on asking subjective feelings of patients in the process of diagnosis and monitoring of treatment. For thousands of years, Chinese Medicine practitioners have accumulated a good wealth of experiences in asking questions about health of their patients based on the concept of health in Chinese Medicine. These experiences were then transformed into questions for the ChQOL. It is believed that ChQOL can contribute to the existing Patient Report Outcome measures. This paper outlines the concept of health and disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the building of the conceptual framework of the ChQOL, the steps of drafting, selecting and validating the items, and the psychometric properties of the ChQOL. METHODS: The development of the ChQOL was based on the concept of health in Traditional Chinese Medicine with a theory driven approach. Based on the results of literature review, the research team developed an initial model of health which encompassed the concept of health in TCM. An expert panel was then invited to comment and give suggestions for improvement of the initial model. According to their suggestions, the model was refined and a set of initial items for the ChQOL was drafted. The refined model, together with the key domains, facets and initial items of the ChQOL were then mailed to a sample of about 100 Chinese medicine practitioners throughout Mainland China for their comments and advice. A revised set of items were developed for linguistic testing by a convenience sample consisting of both healthy people and people who attended Chinese Medicine treatment. After that, an item pool was developed for field-testing. Field test was conducted on a convenience sample of healthy and patient subjects to determine the construct validity and psychometric properties of the ChQOL. RESULTS: Construct validity was established by various methods, i.e. the internal consistency in all facets and domains were good; the correlation between facets to domain, and domains to overall ChQOL correlation were high; confirmatory factor analysis showed that the structure fitness of all facets, domain and overall structure were good with CFI > 0.9. Test-retest reliability was also good, especially in the domain scores with ICC value ranging from 0.83 to 0.90. No ceiling or floor effect was noted which indicated that ChQOL can be applied to subjects with a wide range of health status. Most facet scores, domain scores and the overall CHQOL scores were able to discriminate groups of subjects with known differences in health status. The ChQOL had mild positive convergence with the other generic health related QOL measures, i.e. the WHOQOL-100 and the SF-36, with moderate correlations. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the study indicated that the ChQOL is conceptually valid with satisfactory psychometric properties. It can provide additional information on health and QOL on top of the existing generic health related QOL measures. Furthermore, it forms basis for further testing and applications in clinical trials.

Classification of late-life leisure activities among elderly Chinese in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a classification to describe leisure activities of elderly Hong Kong Chinese based on the functions fulfilled, namely: intellectual, physical, social, and recreational. METHODS: A focus group comprising care-for-the-elderly professionals was invited to identify leisure activities commonly practised by elderly Chinese in Hong Kong. An independent panel of occupational therapists in the field of geriatrics and psychiatry was invited to classify the activities into physical, intellectual, social, and recreational categories based on their professional opinion in the context of local practice. The classification was then validated against the opinions of a non-depressed elderly convenience sample with relatively preserved cognition. RESULTS: A total of 33 types of activities were identified, of which 13 were classified as intellectual, 8 as social, 9 as recreational, and 3 as physical. The 3 types of physical activities (mind-body exercise, strenuous aerobic exercise, and stretching and toning exercise) were further divided into different subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: An easy-to-understand classification of late-life leisure activities among Chinese has been developed.