The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, illness perception, and in atrial fibrillation patients: a six-month longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) often leads to an impaired Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in many patients. Moreover, psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, and illness perception have been found to significantly correlate with HRQoL. This study aims to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in enhancing HRQoL and mitigating psychological distress among AF patients. METHODS: Employing a prospective, open design with pseudo-randomization, this study encompassed pre-tests, post-treatment evaluations, and a 6-month follow-up. A total of 102 consecutive patients diagnosed with paroxysmal AF were initially enrolled. Out of these, 90 were assigned to two groups; one to receive a 10-week CBT treatment specifically focusing on anxiety, and the other to receive standard care. Outcome measures were evaluated using tools such as the Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), University of Toronto Atrial Fibrillation Severity Scale (AFSS), and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ). These assessments were conducted at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at the 6-month follow-up mark. We explored the effectiveness of CBT using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). RESULTS: Our analysis revealed a notable improvement in the CBT group relative to the control group. All metrics displayed consistent improvement across a 6-month duration. At the 6-month checkpoint, the CBT group exhibited a more favorable SF-12 Mental Component Score (MCS) (50.261 ± 0.758 vs. 45.208 ± 0.887, p < 0.001), reduced GAD-7 (4.150 ± 0.347 vs. 8.022 ± 0.423, p < 0.001), BIPQ (34.700 ± 0.432 vs. 38.026 ± 0.318, p < 0.001), and AFSS (9.890 ± 0.217 vs. 10.928 ± 0.218, p = 0.001) scores when compared to the TAU group. Conversely, the SF-12 PCS (44.212 ± 0.816 vs. 47.489 ± 0.960, p = 0.139) and PHQ-9 scores (8.419 ± 0.713 vs. 10.409 ± 0.741, p = 0.794) manifested no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that CBT is effective in improving HRQoL and reducing psychological distress among patients with AF at 6 month follow-up. This highlights the potential benefits of integrating CBT into the therapeutic regimen for AF patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05716828). The date of registration : 5 June 2023.

Positive effect of Balint group on burnout and self-efficacy of head nurses in China: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Burnout is common among nurses and can lead to negative outcomes of medical care. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of Balint groups to reduce burnout in head nurses in a Chinese hospital. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial with a pre- and post-test. A total of 80 head nurses were randomly assigned to either a Balint group (n = 40) or a control group (n = 40). Participants participated in Balint group for a period of 3 months. Participants in both groups completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey and the General Self-Efficacy Scale at the beginning and end of the study. Balint group members also completed the Group Climate Questionnaire-Short Form. Results: In the Balint group, 33 participants attended all Balint groups, while the 40 participants in the control group had no intervention. Analysis of variance with repeated measures demonstrated a statistically significant difference on the Maslach Burnout Inventory subscale of sense of personal achievement (F = 9.598, p = 0.003) between the Balint and control groups. However, there were no significant differences between the groups on the subscales of emotional exhaustion (F = 0.110, p = 0.740) and depersonalization (F = 0.75, p = 0.387), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (F = 0.709, p = 0.403). Conclusions: Balint groups helped reduce burnout among head nurses in terms of personal achievement.

Effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Depression, Illness Perception, and Quality of Life in Atrial Fibrillation Patients.

Background: AF Patients with depression resulted in a markedly reduced quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: It was A longitudinal randomized controlled trial with a pre and 12-weeks post-test. Ninety persons were randomly assigned to either a CBT group (CBT) (n = 45) or a treatment as usual (TAU) group (n = 45). The outcome were changes in the HRQoL [12-item Short Form Health Survey, SF12, divided into two domains: the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS)], changes in psychological distress [Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)], and Illness Perception [Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ)]. Results: There were statistically significant differences in score reduction for PHQ-9 (t = 3.186, P = 0.002), HAMD (t = 2.611, P = 0.011), BIPQ (t = 7.660, P < 0.001), and MCS (t = 4.301, P < 0.001) between CBT group and TAU group. Conclusions: CBT improved HRQoL, Illness Perception and reduced Depressive symptoms in atrial fibrillation.

Efficacy of rituximab in maintenance therapy for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vas-culitis / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab(RTX) as remission-mainten-ance therapy in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(ANCA) associated vasculitis(AAV).Methods:Patients with AAV, including granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), treated with rituximab (RTX) in Peking Union Medical College Hospital during September 2005 to June 2021 were included into this study. Clinical data, relapse rate, time of first relapse and adverse events were collected and analyzed. The cumulative relapse rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier, t test, and Man-Whithey U test and chi-square were used to compare differences between two groups. Results:① Thirty-nine AAV patients were enrolled, including 36 GPA and 3 MPA. During the 20(3, 104) months follow-up, 59.0%(23/39) patients had suffered relapses. The time for first relapse was 11(3, 42) months after remission. ② There were no difference in the relapse rate [60.0%(18/30) vs 55.6%(5/9), χ2=0.06, P=1.000), the time of first relapse [15(3, 42) vs 10(9, 30), Z=0.45, P=0.678], CD19 + B [23.5 (5, 148) cell/μl vs 3(2, 15) cell/μl, Z=0.57, P=0.605] and serum IgG [7.09(5.13, 13.90) g/L vs 9.72(5.32, 12.0) g/L, Z=0.36, P=0.770] between standard dose and low-dose groups. The rate of major relapse-free was significantly less in patients treated with standard dose than patients with reduced dose of RTX {87.1%[95% CI(73.4%, 100.8R%)] vs 64.3%[95% CI(23.1%, 105.4%)], χ2=7.59, P=0.006}. ③ There were no difference in relapse rate [50.0%(3/6) vs 60.6%(20/33), χ2=0.24, P=0.674], time of first relapse [23(6, 25) vs 11(3, 42), Z=0.05, P=0.982], CD19 + B[35(15, 50) cell/μl vs 10(0, 148) cell/μl, Z=0.95, P=0.382] and serum IgG[6.70(5.91, 7.49) g/L vs 7.69(3.78, 13.90) g/L, Z=0.48, P=0.700] between the fixed interval dosage and the on-demand dosage groups. There was no difference in the rate of major relapse-free between the two groups (100% vs 77.8%, χ2=1.79, P=0.181). ④ The incidence of infusion reaction was 5.1%(2/39) and infection was 20.5%(8/39). Serum IgG level was 4.37(3.78, 13.4) g/L at infection. There was no difference in safety between the standard and low-dose groups or between fixed interval and on-demand dosage groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:There is no significant difference in relapse rate bet-ween the standard RTX dose and low-dose RTX induction therapy group, but the major relapse rate is sign-ificantly reduced in the standard dose RTX therapy. The relapse rate of fixed intervals dosage group is similar to that of on-demand dosage group. The safety profile of the standard dose and low-dose induction therapy groups or fixed intervals and on-demand dosage groups is similiar.

Validity and reliability of the depression and somatic symptoms scale for screening depression among patients with coronary heart disease / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective:To assess the validity and reliability of the depression and somatic symptoms scale among patients with coronary heart disease.Methods:Totally 246 patients with coronary heart disease were assessed with depression and somatic symptoms scale (DSSS), Hamilton depression rating scale for depression (HAMD) and patients’ health questionnaire depression scale-9 item (PHQ-9). The structural validity was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The validity as a screening tool was evaluated with the gold standard diagnosed by psychiatrists who were trained with the mini international neuropsychological interview (MINI) according to ICD-10. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to identify cutoff scores for depression. Cronbach α coefficient was used to evaluate the internal consistency.Results:Exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors: depression factor and somatic factor, and the cumulative variance was 51.8%. The fitting indexes of confirmatory factor analysis were as follows: χ2/ df=3.636, RMR=0.077, RMSEA=0.104, IFI=0.804, TLI=0.781, CFI=0.802. The intraclass correlation coefficient of DSSS and HAMD was 0.54. The area under ROC curve (AUC) was 0.828, and the best boundary value was 17 points (sensitivity and specificity: 81% and 75%, respectively). The total scores and subscale scores for internal consistency of DSSS were higher in the depression group than those in the non-depression group ( P<0.01). Cronbach α coefficient for internal consistency of DSSS was 0.917. Conclusion:The DSSS has good validity and reliability among patients with coronary heart disease for screening depression, and can be used to screen depression among patients with coronary heart disease in general hospital.

Group cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder:A randomized controlled trial / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To explore the efficacy of group cognitive-behavioral therapy (GCBT) to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).Methods:In this randomized controlled trial,the control group (n =23) and the intervention group (n =33) were included,all of the participants received duloxetine (30-120 mg/d) as pharmacotherapy.The intervention group received 8 group cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions weekly,90 minutes for each time.Assessments were conducted with the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA),Hamilton Depression Scale (HMAD) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) at baseline,mid-treatmentand post-treatment.CGI included three factors,the severity of illness (SI),the globalimprovement (GI) and the efficacy index (EI).Results:The repeated measures analysis of variance of HAMA showed that,there were statistical significance on the HAMA for interaction between measure time and group processing (F =4.35,P ＜ 0.05).Compared with the control group,the intervention group got higher decreased scores of HAMA at the 4th week and 8th week,and higher prevalence of being cured and efficient at the 4th week.At the 8th week,the decreased scores of HMAD were higher in the intervention group than in the control group,and the scores of CGI-SI and the CGI-IE were lower in the intervention group.Conclusion:It suggests that group cognitive-behavioral therapy combined with pharmacotherapy could be earlier to be effective,and the symptoms of anxiety,depression and the state of illness could be improved more significantly compared with pharmacotherapy alone.

Conflict Analysis and Countermeasures for Doctor-patient Communication from Both Doctors and Patients′Perspectives / 中国医学伦理学

From both doctors and patients′different perspectives , this paper analyses the causes of conflict of doctor-patient communication , and from the subjective and the objective , the history and reality , individual and social aspects of light on the restricting factors for good doctor -patient communication , and puts forward strengthe-ning the consciousness of active , rule execution , achieving full coverage , explore ways to standard mode , rich di-verse ways and other countermeasures .

A meta-analysis of multiple targets with cyclophosphamide in the induction treatment of lupus nephritis / 重庆医学

Objective To evaluate efficacy and safety of hormone combined mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and tacrolimus (FK506) multiple targets treatment ,hormone combined intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse (IVC ) in the induction treatment of lupus nephritis .Methods The RCTs of MMF plus FK506 versus IVC in LN were searched from PubMed ,EMbase ,the Cochrane , CBM ,and CNKI .The literature were screened according to include and exclude standards ,evaluated the quality of the included stud-ies ,and performed meta-analyses using Revman 5 .1 software .Results It was identified 44 domestic RCTs papers including 331 pa-tients .Meta-analysis showed that multiple target therapy group had significantly superiority to IVC group in the induction treatment of Ⅴ + Ⅳ LN (RR=3 .94 ,95% CI 2 .10-7 .38 ,P<0 .01) ,while with no significant advantage for other pathological types of LN patients .Gastrointestinal reaction ,abnormal liver function ,the incidence of leukopenia ,menstrual disorders in multiple target thera-py group were significantly lower than that of IVC group for LN ,while the incidence of new hypertension group was significantly higher than the IVC group .Moreover ,multiple target therapy group could significantly reduce urine protein ,increase serum albumin and had a significantly higher anti-dsDNA negative conversion rate compared with IVC group .Conclusion Multiple target therapy is more effective than IVC for Ⅴ + Ⅳ LN in Chinese patients and with better security .Further large-scale RCTs are needed to con-firm these results .