Operational criteria application does not change clinicians' opinion on the diagnosis of mental disorder: a pre- and post-intervention validity study.

Objective: Our objective was to check if the ICD-10 operational criteria application changes non-operational, prototype-based diagnoses obtained in a real-life scenario. Methods: Psychiatry residents applied the diagnostic criteria of the ICD-10 as a "diagnostic test" to five outpatient patients they were already following who had a prototype-based diagnosis. Tests were used to ascertain whether changes in opinion were significant and if any of the diagnostic groups were more prone to change than others. The present paper is part of the study with UTN U1111-1260-1212. Results: Seventeen residents reviewed their last five case files, retrieving 85 diagnostic pairs of non-operational-based vs. operational-based diagnoses. The Stuart-Maxwell test did not indicate a significant opinion change (χ2 = 5.25, p = 0.39; power = 0.94) besides 30% of diagnostic changes. Despite not being statistically significant, 20.2% of all evaluations resulted in a change that would affect treatment choices. Using ICD-10 operational criteria slightly increased the number of observed diagnoses, but probably without clinical relevance. None of the non-operational diagnoses have a higher tendency to change with operational criteria application (χ2 = 11.6, p = 0.07). The female gender was associated with a higher diagnostic change tendency. Conclusion: Applying ICD-10 operational criteria as a diagnostic test does not induce a statistically significant diagnostic opinion change in residents and no diagnostic group seems more sensible to diagnostic change. Gender-related differences in diagnostic opinion changes might be evidence of sunk cost bias. Although not statistically significant, using operational criteria after diagnostic elaboration might help to deal with subjects without adequate treatment response.

Non-standard diagnostic assessment reliability in psychiatry: a study in a Brazilian outpatient setting using Kappa.

The use of Structured Diagnostic Assessments (SDAs) is a solution for unreliability in psychiatry and the gold standard for diagnosis. However, except for studies between the 50 s and 70 s, reliability without the use of Non-SDAs (NSDA) is seldom tested, especially in non-Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. We aim to measure reliability between examiners with NSDAs for psychiatric disorders. We compared diagnostic agreement after clinician change, in an outpatient academic setting. We used inter-rater Kappa measuring 8 diagnostic groups: Depression (DD: F32, F33), Anxiety Related Disorders (ARD: F40-F49, F50-F59), Personality Disorders (PD: F60-F69), Bipolar Disorder (BD: F30, F31, F34.0, F38.1), Organic Mental Disorders (Org: F00-F09), Neurodevelopment Disorders (ND: F70-F99) and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSD: F20-F29). Cohen's Kappa measured agreement between groups, and Baphkar's test assessed if any diagnostic group have a higher tendency to change after a new diagnostic assessment. We analyzed 739 reevaluation pairs, from 99 subjects who attended IPUB's outpatient clinic. Overall inter-rater Kappa was moderate, and none of the groups had a different tendency to change. NSDA evaluation was moderately reliable, but the lack of some prevalent hypothesis inside the pairs raised concerns about NSDA sensitivity to some diagnoses. Diagnostic momentum bias (that is, a tendency to keep the last diagnosis observed) may have inflated the observed agreement. This research was approved by IPUB's ethical committee, registered under the CAAE33603220.1.0000.5263, and the UTN-U1111-1260-1212.

Intra-rater Kappa Accuracy of Prototype and ICD-10 Operational Criteria-Based Diagnoses for Mental Disorders: A Brief Report of a Cross-Sectional Study in an Outpatient Setting.

Background and Objectives: The use of "operational criteria" is a solution for low reliability, contrasting with a prototypical classification that is used in clinics. We aim to measure the reliability of prototypical and ICD-10 diagnoses. Methods: This is a retrospective study, with a convenience sample of subjects treated in a university clinic. Residents reviewed their diagnosis using ICD-10 criteria, and Cohen's kappa statistic was performed on operational and prototype diagnoses. Results: Three out of 30 residents participated, reviewing 146 subjects under their care. Diagnoses were grouped in eight classes: organic (diagnoses from F00 to F09), substance disorders (F10-F19), schizophrenia spectrum disorders (F20-F29), bipolar affective disorder (F30, F31, F34.0, F38.1), depression (F32, F33), anxiety-related disorders (F40-F49), personality disorders (F60-F69), and neurodevelopmental disorders (F70-F99). Overall, agreement was high [K = 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.69-0.85], with a lower agreement related to personality disorders (K = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.38-0.76) and higher with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (K = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.82-0.99). Discussion: Use of ICD-10 criteria did not significantly increase the number of diagnoses. It changed few diagnoses, implying that operational criteria were irrelevant to clinical opinion. This suggests that reliability among interviewers is more related to information gathering than diagnostic definitions. Also, it suggests an incorporation of diagnostic criteria according to training, which then became part of the clinician's prototypes. Residents should be trained in the use of diagnostic categories, but presence/absence checking is not needed to achieve operational compatible diagnoses.

Critical remarks on strategies aiming to reduce drug related harm: substance misuse and HIV/AIDS in a world in turmoil.

In the last decades, the initiatives implemented under the conceptual umbrella of Harm Reduction have gained momentum, with a vigor and scope (both from a geographic and social perspective) never seen before. A more balanced reevaluation could and should rather say such initiatives have resumed, to a large extent, ideas and actions launched much earlier, in the first decades of the 20th century. Notwithstanding, the dissemination of HIV/AIDS in recent years conferred an exceptional visibility and legitimacy to proposals formerly viewed as subsidiary or openly neglected. Nowadays, initiatives inspired by the Harm Reduction philosophy have faced an "identity crisis", not secondary (according to our perspective) to challenges faced by its concepts and operations, but rather as consequence of a world in a turmoil. Such fast-changing dynamics have reconfigured both drug scenes and the patterns and prospects of HIV/AIDS worldwide. This article briefly summarizes some of such recent, ongoing, changes, which have been deeply affecting both concepts and practices to the point of asking for a deep reformulation of most of the initiatives implemented so far.

Critical remarks on strategies aiming to reduce drug related harm: substance misuse and HIV/AIDS in a world in turmoil

ABSTRACT In the last decades, the initiatives implemented under the conceptual umbrella of Harm Reduction have gained momentum, with a vigor and scope (both from a geographic and social perspective) never seen before. A more balanced reevaluation could and should rather say such initiatives have resumed, to a large extent, ideas and actions launched much earlier, in the first decades of the 20th century. Notwithstanding, the dissemination of HIV/AIDS in recent years conferred an exceptional visibility and legitimacy to proposals formerly viewed as subsidiary or openly neglected. Nowadays, initiatives inspired by the Harm Reduction philosophy have faced an "identity crisis", not secondary (according to our perspective) to challenges faced by its concepts and operations, but rather as consequence of a world in a turmoil. Such fast-changing dynamics have reconfigured both drug scenes and the patterns and prospects of HIV/AIDS worldwide. This article briefly summarizes some of such recent, ongoing, changes, which have been deeply affecting both concepts and practices to the point of asking for a deep reformulation of most of the initiatives implemented so far.

Cenas de uso de crack no município do Rio de Janeiro: perfil em 2011/2012 / Scenes of crack use in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro: Profile for 2011/2012

O consumo de crack, segundo matérias veiculadas pelos meios de comunicação, estaria se transformando numa “epidemia” em nosso país, seja nas grandes metrópoles, onde esta disseminação ter-se-ia iniciado e, mais recentemente, em cidades de pequeno e médio porte. Os estudos científicos brasileiros na área tornaram-se mais frequentes nos últimos anos, mas persistem importantes lacunas. O presente estudo é parte integrante do projeto de pesquisa “Perfil dos usuários de crack nas 26 capitais, Distrito Federal, 09 regiões metropolitanas e Brasil”, e tem como objetivo propor uma tipologia de análise do uso de crack e similares (pasta base, merla e “oxi”), em cenas de uso de drogas no município do Rio de Janeiro, 2011/12. Buscar-se-á especificamente: a) discutir algumas metodologias de investigação de populações de “difícil acesso” ou “ocultas”, como usuários de crack e outras drogas ilícitas; b) propor uma tipologia para a análise descritiva e comparativa entre as cenas de uso de crack e similares em função das suas distribuições por concentração (maior ou menor) de usuários; e c) verificar a aplicabilidade dessa tipologia na análise comparativa dos dados, de modo a identificar diferenças relevantes quanto à natureza das cenas de uso (tamanho das cenas, perfil dos usuários, perfil de consumo de drogas lícitas e ilícitas) e as características geográficas dos espaços urbanos onde ocorrem. Para essa finalidade, foram utilizadas técnicas etnográficas, combinando observação participante e mapeamento; e a utilização do método de amostragem Time Location Sampling (TLS), selecionando potenciais cenas de uso de crack e similares, a partir de molduras (frames) amostrais definidas pelo trabalho de prospecção, em termos de locais, horários e características das cenas de cada localidade. Essas informações geraram um banco de dados que foi analisado através de uma combinação de técnicas quantitativas e qualitativas.

Escala de avaliação de comportamento sexual de risco para adultos: tradução e adaptação transcultural para o português brasileiro / Sexual risk behavior assessment schedule for adults: translation and cross-cultural adaptation into brazilian portuguese

INTRODUÇÃO: A investigação sistemática e detalhada dos comportamentos sexuais de risco constitui um dos principais alicerces para o desenvolvimento de pesquisas que visam à criação de intervenções eficazes para a prevenção do HIV. OBJETIVO: Descrever e discutir as etapas do processo de adaptação lingüístico-cultural das versões masculina e feminina da Escala de Avaliação de Comportamento Sexual de Risco para pacientes psiquiátricos para o português brasileiro pelo Projeto Interdisciplinar em Sexualidade, Saúde Mental e AIDS. MÉTODOS: Treinamento dos investigadores brasileiros no instrumento original, comparação da tradução e da retrotradução, seguida de adaptação lingüístico-cultural à luz da fase formativa do projeto, resultando em uma versão utilizada no treinamento dos entrevistadores brasileiros em entrevistas com pacientes psiquiátricos. Verificação lingüística, confiabilidade qualitativa do instrumento e confiabilidade entre entrevistadores constituíram as etapas complementares para a versão final do questionário. RESULTADOS: Exclusão e adição de seções e itens da escala, tanto nos aspectos conceituais quanto estruturais, foram realizadas, bem como a incorporação de achados resultantes da fase formativa do piloto da pesquisa e mudanças lingüísticas relativas ao registro empregado.

INTRODUCTION: A systematic and detailed investigation of sexual risk behaviors is one of the main foundations in the development of research projects aimed at designing effective interventions for HIV prevention. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents and discusses the stages of the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of male and female versions of the Sexual Risk Behavior Assessment Schedule for psychiatric patients into Brazilian Portuguese, carried out by the Interdisciplinary Project in Sexuality, Mental Health and AIDS. METHODS: Training of Brazilian investigators in the original questionnaire, comparison between translation and back-translation, followed by linguistic and cultural adaptation in the light of the project formative phase were performed, resulting in a version used to train Brazilian interviewers in interviewing psychiatric patients. Language verification, qualitative reliability and interrater reliability were used to complement the final version of the instrument. RESULTS: Elimination and addition of instrument sections and items covering both conceptual and structural aspects were carried out. Incorporation of formative findings from the pilot study and linguistic changes in terms of register were also performed.