Physical frailty characteristics have a differential impact on symptoms as measured by the CAT score: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: The physical frailty status affects the health status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The objective was to determine if the individual physical frailty characteristics have a differential impact on the CAT score. METHODS: This observational study included 137 patients with stable COPD. Physical frailty was measured with unintentional weight loss, low physical activity, exhaustion, slow walking speed and low grip strength and health status assessed with the COPD Assessment test (CAT). The following variables were evaluated as potential determinants of CAT: sex, age, body mass index, smoking, dyspnea, exacerbations, comorbidities, %FEV1, %FVC, anxiety and depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of characteristics for individual frailty was as follows: low grip strength, 60.6%; low physical activity, 27.0%; exhaustion, 19.7%; slow walking speed, 9.5%; and unintentional weight loss, 7.3%. A total of 17.5% of the patients were non-frail, 73.7% were pre-frail and only 8.7% were frail. One of the five frailty characteristics, exhaustion (adjusted ß coefficient 5.12 [standard error = 1.27], p = 0.001) was an independent determinant of CAT score in the final regression model which was adjusted by other independent determinants of CAT (dyspnea, exacerbations and anxiety). CONCLUSIONS: Due to the fact that exhaustion is a frequent and relevant psychological symptom on CAT score of patients with COPD, interventions should reduce that stress. Future research should explore how exhaustion persists or remits over time.

Patterns and predictors of exhaustion episodes in patients with stable COPD: A longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Exhaustion is the perception of low energy. Little is known about how exhaustion persists, remits or reappears over time in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or how to predict these events. We determined the likelihood of transitions between states of exhaustion and no exhaustion among patients with stable COPD followed up for 2 years. We investigated combinations of potential factors for their abilities to predict new-onset exhaustion episodes. METHODS: We prospectively included 137 patients with stable COPD (mean age, 66.9 years ± 8.3). Exhaustion states were measured at baseline and 1 and 2 years later. Exhaustion was defined as an answer of "most of the time" or "a moderate amount of time" to 1 of 2 questions: "How often have you found it hard to get going?" and "How often does everything seem to require effort?" We evaluated demographic, non-respiratory and respiratory variables as potential predictors. The likelihoods of new episodes and recovery were calculated. Predictors were evaluated with generalised estimating equations. RESULTS: At baseline, 27 patients (19.7%) displayed exhaustion. Of the 110 patients without exhaustion at baseline, 17 (15.5%) displayed exhaustion at least once during the follow-up period. During the study period, a total of 204 annual transitions displaying no exhaustion at the beginning were identified. Of them, 10.3% transitioned to exhaustion in the next year. The likelihood of recovery after exhaustion was 50%. Independent predictors of new-onset exhaustion episodes within the following year were: the COPD assessment test score (odds ratio [OR] = 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.21), depression (OR = 6.89; 95% CI: 1.00-47.41) and female gender (OR = 6.88; 95% CI: 1.83-25.73). CONCLUSIONS: Patients in stable COPD with high CAT scores and depression were most likely to experience new-onset exhaustion episodes Thus, exhaustion might be predicted by a combination of psychological factors and respiratory health status. Nevertheless, exhaustion is dynamic in COPD; half of patients recover from exhaustion.

Episodio hipomaníaco desencadenado por disulfiram en tratamiento de alcoholismo / Hypomanic episode caused by disulfiram in treatment of alcohol dependence

El uso de fármacos aversivos, como el disulfiram, en el tratamiento de la dependencia o abuso al alcohol es un pilar fundamental y existe una amplia evidencia de su eficacia y seguridad, siendo el número de efectos adversos muy escasos, como bien han señalado recientemente B. Oshea o P. A. Sherif. Sin embargo, en una población muy reducida que comparte determinados factores de riesgo se ha observado que su uso puede ser un desencadenante de cuadros psicóticos o maníacos. Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 57 años, con diagnóstico de dependencia de alcohol de más de 6 años de evolución y antecedentes de distimia tratada por la unidad de salud mental durante más de 10 años sin una evolución favorable. Acude a nuestra unidad para tratamiento ambulatorio de deshabituación. Después de realizar durante más de un año tratamiento psicoterapéutico de tipo motivacional y tratamiento farmacológico centrado en la reducción de daños, se optó por el uso de disulfiram con la intención de conseguir un cese total del consumo. Se observó un cuadro hipomaníaco en relación con el consumo de dicho fármaco que revirtió al sustituirlo por carbimida y la instauración de un antipsicótico atípico (AU)

The use of aversive drugs is a mainstay in the treatment of alcohol dependence or abuse, and there is wide evidence of their efficacy and safety, with there being very few adverse effects as has recently been pointed out by B. Oshea or P.A. Sherif. However, it has been observed that their use can trigger psychotic or manic symptoms in a very small population that shares certain risk factors. The case is presented of a 57 year-old woman diagnosed with alcohol dependence of over 6 years onset. She had suffered from dysthymia that was treated in a Mental Health Unit for more than 10 years without favourable progress. She came to our unit for outpatient treatment for addiction. After performing psychotherapeutic motivational therapy and a drug treatment type focused on harm reduction for more than a year, we opted for the use of Disulfiram with intent to complete cessation of consumption. A hypomanic picture was observed in relation to consumption of the drug, which reversed on being replaced with carbimide and the introduction of an atypical antipsychotic (AU)

The Short Physical Performance Battery is a discriminative tool for identifying patients with COPD at risk of disability.

BACKGROUND: Limited mobility is a risk factor for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related disabilities. Little is known about the validity of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) for identifying mobility limitations in patients with COPD. OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical validity of the SPPB summary score and its three components (standing balance, 4-meter gait speed, and five-repetition sit-to-stand) for identifying mobility limitations in patients with COPD. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 137 patients with COPD, recruited from a hospital in Spain. Muscle strength tests and SPPB were measured; then, patients were surveyed for self-reported mobility limitations. The validity of SPPB scores was analyzed by developing receiver operating characteristic curves to analyze the sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients with mobility limitations; by examining group differences in SPPB scores across categories of mobility activities; and by correlating SPPB scores to strength tests. RESULTS: Only the SPPB summary score and the five-repetition sit-to-stand components showed good discriminative capabilities; both showed areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves greater than 0.7. Patients with limitations had significantly lower SPPB scores than patients without limitations in nine different mobility activities. SPPB scores were moderately correlated with the quadriceps test (r>0.40), and less correlated with the handgrip test (r<0.30), which reinforced convergent and divergent validities. A SPPB summary score cutoff of 10 provided the best accuracy for identifying mobility limitations. CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence for the validity of the SPPB summary score and the five-repetition sit-to-stand test for assessing mobility in patients with COPD. These tests also showed potential as a screening test for identifying patients with COPD that have mobility limitations.

Comorbilidad entre folie à deux y trastorno del espectro del autismo de alto funcionamiento: a propósito de un caso / Comorbidity between folie à deux spectrum disorder and high functioning autism: report of a case

Los déficits persistentes en comunicación e interacción social y los patrones repetitivos y restringidos de conducta, actividades e intereses son las características clínicas que conforman los trastornos del espectro del autismo. En este contexto psicopatológico se describe el caso de un niño de 8 años que presenta una descompensación psicótica compatible con el diagnóstico de folie à deux, entidad psiquiátrica caracterizada por la transferencia de ideas delirantes y/o conductas extrañas de una persona a otra la cual ha mantenido una relación estrecha e íntima con el paciente afectado originalmente. En este caso, el sujeto afectado primariamente es la madre del paciente, como se evidencia tras las primeras exploraciones (AU)

Persistent deficits in social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, activities and interests are the clinical features that integrate the autism spectrum disorders. In this psychopathological context, is presented the case of an 8-year-old with a psychotic decompensation compatible with the diagnosis of folie à deux, a psychiatric disorder characterized by the transfer of delusional ideas and strange behavior from one person to other, both of them members of a close relationship. In this case, the "primary subject" is the mother of the child, as it is demonstrated in the first examinations (AU)