Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey.

INTRODUCTION: Ayahuasca is a plant-based decoction native to Amazonia, where it has a long history of use in traditional medicine. Contemporary ritual use of ayahuasca has been expanding throughout the world for mental health purposes, and for spiritual and personal growth. Although researchers have been conducting clinical trials and observational studies reporting medical and psychological benefits, most of these do not report ayahuasca's immediate or medium-term adverse effects, so these are underrepresented in the literature. With the expansion of ayahuasca ceremonies from their traditional contexts to countries around the world, there is an important public health question regarding the risk/benefit balance of its use. METHODS: We used data from an online Global Ayahuasca Survey (n = 10,836) collected between 2017 and 2019 involving participants from more than 50 countries. Principal component analysis was performed to assess group effects. Logistic regression analysis was performed to test for adverse effects associated with history of ayahuasca use, clinical, context of use and spiritual effect variables. RESULTS: Acute physical health adverse effects (primarily vomiting) were reported by 69.9% of the sample, with 2.3% reporting the need for subsequent medical attention. Adverse mental health effects in the weeks or months following consumption were reported by 55.9% of the sample, however, around 88% considered such mental health effects as part of a positive process of growth or integration. Around 12% sought professional support for these effects. Physical adverse effects were related to older age at initial use of ayahuasca, having a physical health condition, higher lifetime and last year ayahuasca use, having a previous substance use disorder diagnosis, and taking ayahuasca in a non-supervised context. Mental health adverse effects were positively associated with anxiety disorders; physical health conditions; and the strength of the acute spiritual experience; and negatively associated with consumption in religious settings. CONCLUSIONS: While there is a high rate of adverse physical effects and challenging psychological effects from using ayahuasca, they are not generally severe, and most ayahuasca ceremony attendees continue to attend ceremonies, suggesting they perceive the benefits as outweighing any adverse effects. Knowing what variables might predict eventual adverse effects may serve in screening of, or providing additional support for, vulnerable subjects. Improved understanding of the ayahuasca risk/benefit balance can also assist policy makers in decisions regarding potential regulation and public health responses.

Three-year prevalence of self-harm behaviors among the reasons for emergency visits of children and adolescents.

Self-harm in the paediatric population is an emerging problem that has been associated with disability and an increased risk of suicide. The objective of the study is to analyse the prevalence of self-harming behaviour as a reason for paediatric emergency consultations.

Prevalencia a 3 años de las conductas autolesivas entre los motivos de consulta a urgencias en población infantojuvenil / Three-year prevalence of self-harm behaviors among the reasons for emergency visits of children and adolescents

INTRODUCCIÓN: Las conductas autolesivas en población pediátrica son un problema emergente que se ha asociado a la discapacidad y un mayor riesgo de muerte por suicidio. El objetivo del estudio es analizar la prevalencia de las con­ductas autolesivas entre los motivos de consulta a urgencias pediátricas. MATERIAL Y MÉTODO: Se analizaron 566 episodios clínicos cuyo principal motivo de consulta estaba relacionado con un problema de salud mental, entre las 122.985 consultas a urgencias de pediatría entre 2015-2017. Psiquiatras exper­tos los agruparon en el Grupo CA (conductas autolesivas) y Grupo PS (otra psicopatología). Variables clínicas y sociode­mográficas se extrajeron de los informes de alta a partir de hojas de registro específicas. RESULTADOS: El Grupo CA incluyó el 20,5 % de las con­sultas a urgencias por algún problema de salud mental. Las conductas autolesivas más frecuentes fueron las sobreingestas medicamentosas (38,8 %) y los cortes (24,1 %). En relación al Grupo PS, el Grupo CA presentaba un porcen­taje mayor de chicas, una edad media más alta y más an­tecedentes psiquiátricos (p < 0,001). Además, este grupo presentó un mayor porcentaje de diagnósticos al alta de trastornos afectivos y posibles trastornos de la personali­dad (p < 0,001). CONCLUSIONES: La prevalencia de conductas autolesivas entre las consultas a urgencias pediátricas es alta. Se observan especialmente en chicas adolescentes y muestran una mayor complejidad clínica. La detección y atención adecuada de es­tas conductas con programas especializados puede ayudar a prevenir el deterioro del funcionamiento psicosocial y detec­tar precozmente el debut de trastornos psiquiátricos

INTRODUCTION: Self-harm in the paediatric population is an emerging problem that has been associated with disability and an increased risk of suicide. The objective of the study is to analyse the prevalence of self-harming behaviour as a reason for paediatric emergency consultations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 122,985 paediatric emergency consultations during the years 2015-2017 were reviewed. Of these, 566 clinical episodes with a psychopathological prob­lem as the main reason for consultation were analysed. Ex­pert psychiatrists grouped them into Group CA (self-harming behaviour) and Group PS (other psychopathology). Clinical and sociodemographic variables were taken from the dis­charge reports and transferred to specific record sheets. RESULTS: During the period analysed, a progressive de­crease in the age of patients attending the paediatrics emer­gency room for a psychopathological problem was observed (p < 0.001). Of these, 20.5% consulted for self-harming be­haviour. Group CA had more of psychiatric medical history, an older mean age and were mostly female (p < 0.001). Among self-harming behaviour, the most frequent were medication overdose (38.8%) and cuts (24.1%). At discharge, this group had a higher percentage of diagnoses of affective disorders and possible personality disorders (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of self-harm as the reason for consultation in emergency services is high in the paediatric population and adequate attention should be paid to it, especially for adolescent girls. To prevent the functional deterioration associated with these behaviours, implementing programmes for early detection and intervention and referral to specialised treatment should be considered

The role of environmental influences in the complex relationship between borderline personality disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: review of recent findings.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the existence of possible developmental pathways from childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to adult Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been suggested. The existence of common genetic factors has been described but there is little evidence on the role of environmental factors in the possible transition from one disorder to another throughout life. The main goal of this work is to review the literature about the existing evidence on childhood traumas as factors that mediate the risk of developing BPD in children with ADHD. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Science Direct and PsychInfo databases. Criteria included studies of BPD and ADHD relationships and childhood traumas as environmental influences from epidemiological or clinical samples. RESULTS: The review only identified 4 studies that matched the search criteria. All studies retrospectively analyzed childhood traumas, and adult patients with BPD, with or without comorbid ADHD, were the most frequently mentioned. The analyzed evidence reinforces the relationship between the number of childhood traumas and higher clinical severity. Three of these analyzed studies describe an increased the risk of children with ADHD who report emotional and sexual traumatic experiences to develop BPD in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of traumatic childhood events, especially those of an emotional type, may have a mediating effect of an increased risk of developing adult BPD in childhood ADHD patients. However, to consider them as risk factors, more studies, and especially longitudinal studies, are necessary to clarify the probable transactional process between the two disorders. Evidence from these studies may be helpful to develop early intervention programs to reduce the functional impairment associated with the two disorders.

El dolor en ancianos y en pacientes con déficits cognitivos. Un estudio DELPHI / Pain in the elderly and in patients with cognitive deficit. A DELPHI study

Objetivos: Muchos ancianos que viven en centros sociosanitarios sufren de dolor crónico y casi la mitad de ellos pueden presentar alteraciones cognitivas. Esta situación reduce considerablemente su posibilidad de comunicar el dolor que padecen y puede impedir que sea detectado por los profesionales sanitarios que les atienden. El objetivo del presente estudio Delphi fue conocer la opinión de los profesionales implicados en el cuidado de los pacientes ancianos con alteraciones cognitivas graves sobre la presencia de dolor y la valoración de su existencia. Material y métodos: Se invitó a participar a médicos, psicólogos, fisioterapeutas, enfermeras y auxiliares de clínica pertenecientes a 25 centros socio-sanitarios de Cataluña. En la primera fase, participaron 22 centros (88 %) y 107 expertos. Se elaboró un cuestionario con 19 enunciados (16 valorados según la escala tipo Likert y tres preguntas abiertas). En la segunda, se preparó un cuestionario con la distribución percentual de respuestas en cada enunciado. Colaboraron 19 centros (76 %) y 90 profesionales (84 %). Resultados: Se obtuvo consenso (≥ 90 % de coincidencia) en los siguientes enunciados: a) el dolor en los ancianos es un síntoma exclusivamente físico (en desacuerdo); b) el dolor crónico del anciano es intratable (en desacuerdo); c) la falta de capacidad verbal para manifestar el dolor en los ancianos con alteraciones cognitivas puede conducir a un tratamiento insuficiente (en acuerdo); d) se puede evaluar el dolor de la misma manera en aquellas personas que pueden expresarlo de forma verbal que en aquellas que no pueden hacerlo (en desacuerdo); e) no existen instrumentos suficientes para valorar la presencia de dolor en pacientes con deficiencias cognitivas y dificultades de comunicación (en acuerdo); f) los ancianos sienten más el dolor pues es la única forma de sentirse vivos (en desacuerdo). El índice de variación de estabilidad de respuesta en las dos rondas fue inferior al 0,04 y el análisis de correlación de Spearman no encontró comportamientos diferentes en la respuesta de ninguna de las subpoblaciones de profesionales. Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran que los profesionales sanitarios creen que faltan instrumentos adecuados para valorar el dolor en sus pacientes y que este hecho puede conllevar consecuencias deletéreas tanto para ellos como para los profesionales que los atienden. Se propone la observación de los cambios conductuales como la mejor forma de valorar el dolor y su empleo en instrumentos de evaluación para aquellos pacientes con dificultades de comunicación oral

Objetives: Many elderly people that live in nursing homes suffer from chronic pain and almost half of them may be affected by cognitive impairment. This situation reduces the possibility of communicating the pain that they suffer and may hinder its detection by health professionals who care them. The aim of the current study was to know the opinions and beliefs of healthcare workers who look after them on the presence of pain as well as the methods to assess it. Material and methods: Physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, nurses and nurses assistants from 25 nursing homes of Catalonia were invited to participate. In the first phase 22 centers and 107 people participated. A questionnaire with 19 statements (16 assessed by Likert-like scale and 3 open questions) was used. In the second phase, a new questionnaire was prepared with the distribution of the answers of the first phase. In this phase, 19 centers (76 %) and 90 people (84 %) agreed to collaborate again. Results: A consensus (≥ 90 % of agreement) was reached in the following statements: a) Pain in the elderly is an exclusively physical symptom (disagree); b) Chronic pain of elderly cannot be treated (disagree); c) The lack of verbal communication to report pain in the elderly with cognitive impairment may convey to an inadequate treatment (agree); d) Pain may be equally evaluated in people with oral communication that in those who cannot do it (disagree); e) There are not enough tools for assessing pain in patients with cognitive impairment and limited communication (agree); f) Elderly people feel pain more frequently than younger people because it is the only way to feel alive (disagree). The variation index in the two phases was less than 0.04 and the Spearman analysis did not find any different answers in the different profile of health workers. Conclusions: These results showed that health professionals believed that there is a lack of adequate tools to evaluate pain in their patients and that this situation may have deleterious effect for them and health professionals as well. It is suggested that the use of the observation of behavioral changes may be the best way to assess pain and that they should be included in the evaluation tools to be used in patients with communication disabilities

Clinical Components of Borderline Personality Disorder and Personality Functioning.

BACKGROUND: Impairment in personality functioning (PF) represents a salient criterion of the DSM-5 alternative diagnostic model for personality disorders (AMPD). The main goal of this study is to analyze the relationship of the borderline personality disorder (BPD) clinical components derived from the DSM-5 categorical diagnostic model (affective dysregulation, behavioral dysregulation, and disturbed relatedness) with personality organization (PO), i.e., PF, assessed by the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO). METHODS: STIPO and the Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV (SCID-I and -II) were administered to 206 BPD patients. The relationship between PO and BPD components were studied using Spearman correlations and independent linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Significant positive correlations were observed between STIPO scores and several DSM-5 BPD criteria and comorbid psychiatric disorders. STIPO dimensions mainly correlated with disturbed relatedness and, to a lesser extent, affective dysregulation components. Each BPD clinical component was associated with specific STIPO dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Both diagnostic models, DSM-5 BPD criteria and PO, are not only related but complementary concepts. The results of this study particularly recommend STIPO for the assessment of relational functioning, which is a major domain of the Personality Functioning Scale Levels of the DSM-5 AMPD.

Differences in the association between childhood trauma history and borderline personality disorder or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses in adulthood.

Common environmental etiological factors between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have not been fully studied. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between childhood trauma histories, assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), with adult BPD, ADHD or BPD-ADHD diagnoses. Comorbid BPD-ADHD patients exhibited significantly higher clinical severity and higher scores in the Total Neglect Scale, compared to BPD and ADHD patients, and only a marginal difference was observed for Sexual Abuse when BPD and ADHD patients were compared. Physical Trauma Scales were associated with ADHD diagnosis, whereas Emotional Abuse and Sexual Abuse Scales were associated with BPD or BPD-ADHD diagnoses. The study findings support the association between experiencing traumatic events in childhood and a higher clinical severity of BPD in adulthood. Furthermore, physical trauma history in childhood could be associated with the persistence of ADHD in adulthood and emotional or sexual abuse with later development of BPD or comorbid BPD-ADHD. Whereas experiencing childhood traumas is associated with later development of more general psychopathology, our study supports that a specific type of traumatic event could increase the risk for the consolidation of a concrete psychiatric disorder in the trajectory from childhood to adulthood of vulnerable subjects.

Adolescents and Dual Diagnosis in a Psychiatric Emergency Service. / Adolescentes y Diagnóstico Dual en el Servicio de Urgencias Psiquiátricas.

In recent years, both the prevalence of drug use and related child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies have risen sharply. There are few studies about the impact on child and adolescent emergency services. This study has a twofold aim. The first is to describe the prevalence of substance use disorders, mental disorders and dual diagnosis (substance use problems plus mental disorder) in adolescents in psychiatric emergency service. The second is to analyze clinical and healthcare differences between patients with dual diagnosis and patients with a mental disorder without substance use disorder.We retrospectively reviewed 4012 discharge forms for emergencies treated at the psychiatric emergency department during the period 2007-2009. We obtained a sample of 1795 visits. This sample was divided into two groups: the dual diagnosis group (n = 477) and the psychiatric disorder group (n = 1318).The dual diagnosis group accounted for 26.5% of psychiatric emergencies analyzed. Compared to the psychiatric disorder group,the dual diagnosis group had significantly more conduct disorders, social problems, involuntariness in the visit, less hospital admissions and less connection with the healthcare network.Adolescents with a dual diagnosis account for a high percentage of visits at child and adolescent psychiatric emergency services. This patient group requires specialized care both at emergency services and in specific units. Accordingly, these units should play a triple role when handling dual diagnosis: detection, brief treatment and referral to a specialised unit.

En los últimos años, la prevalencia del consumo de drogas y las urgencias psiquiátricas relacionadas han incrementado notablemente en los adolescentes. Pocos estudios han examinado el impacto en los servicios de urgencias psiquiátricos infantojuveniles.Este estudio tiene un doble objetivo. Primero, describir la prevalencia del consumo de sustancias y de otros trastornos mentales comórbidos en una muestra de adolescentes que consultan a un servicio de urgencias psiquiátricas. Segundo, analizar las diferencias clínicas y asistenciales entre el grupo de pacientes con patología dual (comorbilidad de trastorno mental y trastorno por uso de sustancias) y el grupo de pacientes con trastorno mental sin consumo.Se revisaron 4012 historias de adolescentes que acudieron a un servicio de urgencias de psiquiatría durante los años 2007-2009, obteniéndose una muestra de 1795 visitas. La muestra se dividió en dos grupos: el grupo de patología dual (n = 477) y el grupo de patología psiquiátrica (n = 1318). El grupo con patología dual representó el 26,5% de las urgencias analizadas. En comparación con el grupo de pacientes psiquiátricos, presentaba significativamente más trastornos de conducta, patología social, involuntariedad en las visitas, más ingresos y menor vinculación a la red asistencial.Los adolescentes con una patología dual generan un elevado impacto en los Servicios de Urgencia psiquiátricos infantojuveniles. Este grupo requiere de una atención especializada tanto en los servicios de urgencias como en unidades específicas. En consecuencia, los servicios de urgencias deben cumplir una triple función en el abordaje de pacientes con patología dual: la detección, la intervención breve y la derivación a unidades especializadas.

Adolescentes y Diagnóstico Dual en el Servicio de Urgencias Psiquiátricas / Adolescents and Dual Diagnosis in a Psychiatric Emergency Service

En los últimos años, la prevalencia del consumo de drogas y las urgencias psiquiátricas relacionadas han incrementado notablemente en los adolescentes. Pocos estudios han examinado el impacto en los servicios de urgencias psiquiátricos infantojuveniles. Este estudio tiene un doble objetivo. Primero, describir la prevalencia del consumo de sustancias y de otros trastornos mentales comórbidos en una muestra de adolescentes que consultan a un servicio de urgencias psiquiátricas. Segundo, analizar las diferencias clínicas y asistenciales entre el grupo de pacientes con patología dual (comorbilidad de trastorno mental y trastorno por uso de sustancias) y el grupo de pacientes con trastorno mental sin consumo. Se revisaron 4012 historias de adolescentes que acudieron a un servicio de urgencias de psiquiatría durante los años 2007-2009, obteniéndose una muestra de 1795 visitas. La muestra se dividió en dos grupos: el grupo de patología dual (n = 477) y el grupo de patología psiquiátrica (n = 1318). El grupo con patología dual representó el 26,5% de las urgencias analizadas. En comparación con el grupo de pacientes psiquiátricos, presentaba significativamente más trastornos de conducta, patología social, involuntariedad en las visitas, más ingresos y menor vinculación a la red asistencial. Los adolescentes con una patología dual generan un elevado impacto en los Servicios de Urgencia psiquiátricos infantojuveniles. Este grupo requiere de una atención especializada tanto en los servicios de urgencias como en unidades específicas. En consecuencia, los servicios de urgencias deben cumplir una triple función en el abordaje de pacientes con patología dual: la detección, la intervención breve y la derivación a unidades especializadas

In recent years, both the prevalence of drug use and related child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies have risen sharply. There are few studies about the impact on child and adolescent emergency services. This study has a twofold aim. The first is to describe the prevalence of substance use disorders, mental disorders and dual diagnosis (substance use problems plus mental disorder) in adolescents in psychiatric emergency service. The second is to analyze clinical and healthcare differences between patients with dual diagnosis and patients with a mental disorder without substance use disorder. We retrospectively reviewed 4012 discharge forms for emergencies treated at the psychiatric emergency department during the period 2007-2009. We obtained a sample of 1795 visits. This sample was divided into two groups: the dual diagnosis group (n = 477) and the psychiatric disorder group (n = 1318). The dual diagnosis group accounted for 26.5% of psychiatric emergencies analyzed. Compared to the psychiatric disorder group, the dual diagnosis group had significantly more conduct disorders, social problems, involuntariness in the visit, less hospital admissions and less connection with the healthcare network. Adolescents with a dual diagnosis account for a high percentage of visits at child and adolescent psychiatric emergency services. This patient group requires specialized care both at emergency services and in specific units. Accordingly, these units should play a triple role when handling dual diagnosis: detection, brief treatment and referral to a specialised unit

Regional analysis of health service utilisation by persons with borderline personality disorders: implications for evidence-informed policy.

BACKGROUND: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been associated with an intensive use of health resources and a high economic burden. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study is to analyze the use of mental healthcare resources by BPD patients, to identify the information gaps on BPD at the regional health databases and to describe specific indicators and patterns of care utilization by persons with BPD in order to guide evidence-informed policy planning in Catalonia (Spain). METHODS: A multi-level cross-design synthesis approach was applied following a mixed quantitative-qualitative analysis to estimate the regional service utilisation of patients with BPD. This framing analysis included estimates based on all available data on the use of services combined with prior expert knowledge gathered through a nominal group of key stakeholders in this field. RESULTS: The estimated year prevalence of BPD was 0.7% but only 9.6% of all BPD patients in Catalonia had any contact with the health care system. Of those, less than half contacted mental health care. BPD represented 1.7% of the total care load in the community mental health centres. A significant information gap was identified in all the official databases and impeded their direct use for planning and resource allocation in BPD. Expert knowledge was required to estimate rates of care utilization at every level of care system (primary care, specialized outpatient care and hospital care). Nevertheless the high pattern of care utilization identified at the databases was accurate according to the experts. DISCUSSION: Detection of BPD was lower than expected in the local, regional and national databases and registries of Catalonia. Local data was judged highly inaccurate by experts in comparison to data available on other mental disorders in the same databases. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY AND RESEARCH: Specific incentives should be implemented to improve the availability and accuracy of information on BPD at the regional databases. When present, BPD should be coded before other psychiatric disorders in clinical records and health databases. Mental health surveys and psychiatric epidemiological studies should specifically incorporate BPD in their inclusion criteria and further studies on the utilisation pattern of this disorder are needed, both locally and internationally.

Conditioned Subjective Responses to Socially Relevant Stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder and Subclinical Social Anxiety.

UNLABELLED: Although enhanced fear conditioning has been implicated in the origins of social anxiety disorder (SAD), laboratory evidence in support of this association is limited. Using a paradigm employing socially relevant unconditioned stimuli, we conducted two separate studies to asses fear conditioning in individuals with SAD and non-clinical individuals with high social anxiety (subclinical social anxiety [SSA]). They were compared with age-matched and gender-matched individuals with another anxiety disorder (panic disorder with agoraphobia) and healthy controls (Study 1) and with individuals with low social anxiety (Study 2). Contrary to our expectations, in both studies, self-report measures (ratings of anxiety, unpleasantness and arousal to the conditioned stimuli) of fear conditioning failed to discriminate between SAD or SSA and the other participant groups. Our results suggest that enhanced fear conditioning does not play a major role in pathological social anxiety. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: We used a social conditioning paradigm to study fear conditioning in clinical and subclinical social anxiety. We found no evidence of enhanced fear conditioning in social anxiety individuals. Enhanced fear conditioning may not be a hallmark of pathological social anxiety.

Association between methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene, childhood maltreatment, and clinical severity in borderline personality disorder.

The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) is essential in the regulation of stress responses. Increased methylation of the promoter region of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) has been described both in subjects with history of childhood trauma and in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). However, no data on the possible association between a higher methylation of this gene and clinical severity is available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between NR3C1 methylation status, the history of childhood trauma, and current clinical severity in subjects with BPD. A sample of 281 subjects with BPD (diagnosed by SCID-II and DIB-R semi-structured diagnostic interviews) was recruited. Clinical variables included previous hospitalizations, self-injurious behavior, and self-reported history of childhood trauma. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between NR3C1 methylation status and childhood maltreatment (specifically physical abuse). In addition, a positive correlation between methylation status and clinical severity (DIB-R total score and hospitalizations) was observed. These findings suggest that NR3C1 methylation in subjects with BPD may be associated not only with childhood trauma but also with clinical severity, adding new evidence to the involvement of gene-environment interactions in this disorder.

Physical well-being in postoperative period: a survey in patients, nurses and physicians.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine which unpleasant conditions might contribute to postoperative physical well-being, as judged by patients, nurses and physicians. BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals have rarely assessed holistic postoperative well-being. Most studies have focused on specific symptoms, and a broader survey is lacking. DESIGN: A prospective study, which collected information on the causes of decreased physical well-being in the postoperative period. METHODS: The study was carried out in 101 patients who subsequently underwent elective surgery, in 82 physicians and in 40 nurses, all from the same hospital. A questionnaire was used for each sample, which included an inventory of 12 items, which have been associated with the worsening of postoperative physical well-being in the literature. Patients were asked to fill out the questionnaire on the second or third postoperative day and score each item from 0-10. RESULTS: Physicians rated pain (8·45), vomiting (6·68) and nausea (6·55) the highest. Nurses scored pain (8·48), nasogastric tube (7·13) and nausea (7·10) at the top. Insomnia and oxygen mask were scored significantly higher by nurses than by physicians. Patients scored pain (5·41) and movement restriction (4·62) the highest. When departments were compared, statistical differences were seen in nausea, vomiting, intravenous drips, nasogastric tube and oxygen mask. CONCLUSIONS: This survey shows that there is a general agreement between nurses and physicians regarding what contributes to decreased postoperative physical well-being, with few exceptions. However, healthcare professionals may differently rate some items that patients find as the most troubling. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This survey shows that, besides pain, other symptoms can affect the physical well-being of patients during the postoperative period. Alleviation of some symptoms and the use of medical devices only when they are really needed may help to improve the well-being of patients.

Testing the temporal stability of individual differences in the acquisition and generalization of fear.

We studied the temporal stability of individual differences in the acquisition and generalization of fear. Seventy-one participants were tested in two almost identical fear-acquisition and fear-generalization sessions (separated by 8 months). Acquisition and generalization were measured by the fear-potentiated startle, the skin conductance response, and online expectancies of the unconditioned stimulus. To control for the effects of previous experience, different stimuli were used for half of the participants in Session 2. Acquisition and generalization did not differ across sessions or as a function of the stimuli used in Session 2, and a significant proportion of individual differences in these processes was stable over time (generalizability coefficients ranged from 0.17 to 0.38). When the same stimuli were used, acquisition measures showed compromised stability. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and applied implications.

Prevención del trastorno límite de la personalidad del adulto: tratamiento de los adolescentes con síntomas límites / Prevention of adult bordeline personality disorder: Treatment of adolescents with bordeline symtoms

EL TRASTORNO LÍMITE DE PERSONALIDAD (TLP) es un trastorno psiquiátrico grave y difícil de tratar de un modo adecuado en el adulto, dada su heterogeneidad clínica y la diversidad de necesidades que puede presentar. Se ha evidenciado que el diagnóstico y tratamiento precoz puede mejorar el pronóstico del TLP, al evitar las complicaciones que se asocian a los casos que han evolucionado a lo largo de la vida y que han sido diagnosticados tardíamente. Actualmente se considera el TLP como un trastorno ligado al desarrollo, existiendo un número importante de pacientes que manifiestan el trastorno completa o parcialmente ya en la adolescencia. Por todo ello, las estrategias de detección precoz durante esta etapa de la vida permitirían establecer tratamientos de menor complejidad y mayor eficiencia, evitando el desarrollo de formas más graves del trastorno en el adulto (AU)

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious psychiatric disorder, with a difficult treatment in the adulthood, related to its clinical heterogeneity and diversity of needs that patients can require. Evidence suggests that early diagnosis and treatment may improve BPD prognosis, to avoid complications associated with those cases that have evolved throughout life and have been diagnosed late. Nowadays, BPD is considered as a developmental disorder, existing a significant number of patients that exhibit the complete or partial disorder in the adolescence. Therefore, early detection strategies during this stage of life enable to establish treatments to reduce complexity and increase efficiency, avoiding the development of severe forms of this disorder in the adulthood (AU)

No effect of trait anxiety on differential fear conditioning or fear generalization.

Previous studies have shown that individuals with anxiety disorders exhibit deficits in fear inhibition and excessive generalization of fear, but little data exist on individuals at risk from these disorders. The present study examined the role of trait anxiety in the acquisition and generalization of fear in 126 healthy participants selected on the basis of their trait-anxiety scores. Measures of conditioning included fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance response and online risk ratings for the unconditioned stimulus. Contrary to our hypotheses, trait anxiety did not have any effect either on the acquisition or the generalization of fear. Our results suggest that these fear conditioning processes are not impaired in individuals at risk from anxiety.

Exploring the clinical validity of borderline personality disorder components.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is recognized as a complex syndrome, resulting in a heterogeneous diagnostic category. Besides the characteristics of the disorder itself, comorbid disorders play an important role in this complexity. The aim of the study is to analyze the clinical validity of 3 components for BPD Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria--called affective dysregulation, behavioral dysregulation, and disturbed relatedness--investigating differences in patterns of comorbidity. For this purpose, 365 patients with suspected BPD were included in the study. To test our hypothesis, patients were classified into 5 clusters using a K-cluster analysis to study the clinical validity of the 3 components based on the 3-factor model of BPD. Differences in comorbidity, previous suicide attempts, and self-harm behaviors among the defined clusters were analyzed. Between-cluster differences were observed for Axis I and Axis II disorders as well as in the frequency of suicide attempts and in self-harm behaviors. The study of BPD based on the 3 components seems to be more useful than the study of BPD as a unitary construct to help further our understanding of this complex disorder. In the present study, the 3 BPD components have allowed us to analyze the complex comorbidity of BPD patients. This solution could be considered an interesting way to clarify BPD etiology, diagnosis, and treatment efficacy.

The SCID-II and DIB-R interviews: Diagnostic association with poor outcome risk factors in Borderline Personality Disorder / Entrevistas SCID-II y DIB-R: asociación del diagnóstico de Trastorno Límite de la Personalidad con factores de riesgo de mal pronóstico

This study assesses whether patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II) or the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R) present differences in factors associated with risk of poor outcome. Three hundred fifty-two patients were evaluated with SCID-II and DIB-R. Patients diagnosed as BPD according to one or both instruments were compared in BPD poor outcome risk factors. The analysis was conducted on the participants who were assigned to SCID-II (n = 135) and SCID-II/DIB-R (n = 126) groups. The group diagnosed with BPD according the combined SCID-II/DIB-R interview showed a significantly greater association with risk of poor outcome predictors, such as total number of comorbid Axis II disorders, number of BPD criteria, presence of comorbid paranoid personality disorder, and worse occupational status. No differences between groups were found in the affective instability BPD criterion, self-reported impulsivity, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder or presence of any cluster C comorbidity. The observed differences were large enough to advise caution in generalizing findings from studies without considering what measurement was used for the BPD diagnosis (AU)

En el presente estudio se compara si existen diferencias en factores relacionados con mal pronóstico en pacientes diagnosticados de Trastorno Límite de Personalidad (TLP) en función de si cumplían los criterios diagnósticos para el trastorno según la Entrevista Clínica Estructurada para los Trastornos de Personalidad del Eje II del DSM-IV (SCID-II) o la Entrevista Diagnóstica para el Trastorno Límite - revisada (DIB-R). Se evaluó una muestra de 352 pacientes mediante la SCID-II y la DIB-R. Tras el proceso de evaluación, dos grupos fueron comparados: el grupo SCID-II (n= 135) y el grupo SCID-II/DIB-R (n= 126). Comparado con el grupo SCID-II, el grupo SCID-II/DIB-R presentó de forma significativa más predictores de mala evolución, concretamente número total de trastornos comórbidos del Eje II, número de criterios TLP, presencia de trastorno paranoide de la personalidad comórbido y peor situación laboral. No se observaron diferencias significativas en inestabilidad afectiva, impulsividad autoinformada, trastorno por estrés postraumático, trastorno depresivo mayor o trastornos de personalidad del Cluster C comórbidos. Las diferencias observadas fueron lo suficientemente importantes como para recomendar precaución al generalizar los resultados de aquellos estudios que utilizan uno de los instrumentos a los que usan el otro (AU)

The SCID-II and DIB-R interviews: diagnostic association with poor outcome risk factors in Borderline Personality Disorder.

This study assesses whether patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II) or the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R) present differences in factors associated with risk of poor outcome. Three hundred fifty-two patients were evaluated with SCID-II and DIB-R. Patients diagnosed as BPD according to one or both instruments were compared in BPD poor outcome risk factors. The analysis was conducted on the participants who were assigned to SCID-II (n = 135) and SCID-II/DIB-R (n = 126) groups. The group diagnosed with BPD according the combined SCID-II/DIB-R interview showed a significantly greater association with risk of poor outcome predictors, such as total number of comorbid Axis II disorders, number of BPD criteria, presence of comorbid paranoid personality disorder, and worse occupational status. No differences between groups were found in the affective instability BPD criterion, self-reported impulsivity, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder or presence of any cluster C comorbidity. The observed differences were large enough to advise caution in generalizing findings from studies without considering what measurement was used for the BPD diagnosis.

Effectiveness of combined individual and group dialectical behavior therapy compared to only individual dialectical behavior therapy: a preliminary study.

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an effective therapy. However, treating borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients with standard DBT can be problematic in some institutions due to logistical or cost limitations. The aim of this preliminary study is to examine the efficacy of Individual DBT in 37 BPD patients, compared with Combined individual/Group DBT in 14 BPD patients. Outcome measures included suicide attempts, self-harm behaviors, and visits to emergency departments. These variables were examined at pretreatment, 12 months/end of treatment, and at an 18-month follow-up. In addition, dropout rates were examined. Significant improvements on the outcome measures were observed across both versions of DBT treatment, particularly at the 18-month follow-up assessment. No significant differences were observed between Individual DBT and Combined individual/Group DBT on any of the posttreatment evaluations. An individual version of DBT may be an effective and less costly option for BPD treatment. Larger controlled trials are needed to confirm the results.