Psychomotor performance of psychiatric inpatients under therapy: assessment by paper and pencil tests.

Fifty psychiatric inpatients included in the study were diagnosed as having substance related disorder, schozophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder or anxiety disorder based on DSM-IV and ICD-10. All the patients were on multiple drug therapy for a minimum of 7 days in the hospital. The psychomotor performance score assessed with the help of the six letter cancellation test and the digit letter substitution test was compared with a matched group of 50 normal volunteers. The significantly low scores for patients may be considered indicative of the fact that prolonged therapy would be required to attain normal psychomotor status. Thus, simple paper and pencil tests may provide valuable information in assessment of psychomotor and cognitive functions of psychiatric patients during recovery.

Dream features in psychiatric patients on multiple psychoactive drugs.

An investigation into dreams was conducted in 100 subjects involving 50 psychiatric in-patients and fifty normal volunteers with the help of a questionnaire. The dream patterns of the two groups were compared. Results revealed that dreams of the patients were different from normal individuals even before the onset of psychiatric illness. The dreams in normal subjects were mostly related to present life situations whereas, the dreams of the patients were less frequent in this respect. On the other hand, frightening dreams, repetitive dreams and vision of snakes in the dreams were more frequent in patients. These differences became more conspicuous with the onset of illness. The dreams were suppressed in 78% patients after the institution of drug therapy. Most of the patients were getting three to four psychoactive drugs which alter the sleep pattern and may therefore affect the dreaming process. Thus, the qualitative changes in dreams of a person may serve as an early warning for an impending future illness. The suppressant effect of psychoactive drugs on dreams demands further investigations.

Rational drug use--evaluation of a training programme for interns.

A workshop covering various aspects of rational drug use was conducted for interns of Christian Medical College, Ludhiana. Evaluation of the workshop revealed that it was able to bring about an attitudinal change regarding rational drug use. The methodology and evaluation procedures have been described. It is suggested that similar attempts should be made at all medical colleges so that every graduate enters medical practice with a positive attitude towards rational drug use.

Effecting attitudinal change towards rational drug use.

Attitudes of 40 interns towards rational drug use (RDU) were assessed, using a standardized Likert type scale. The assessment was repeated after 4 months to evaluate the effect of usual working conditions of the hospital. After this period, the attitudes had slided towards negative side (p < 0.01). At this point, an intervention in the form of a workshop was provided for half the group while other half served as control. A repeat assessment after another period of 4 months revealed that the attitudes of test group returned towards positive side (p < 0.01) while control group maintained its negative attitudes.

Lymphangiographic evaluation of patients with clinical lepromatous leprosy on clofazimine.

Pedal edema as a possible adverse effect of clofazimine therapy in leprosy was first reported in 1990. Raasch, et al. reported their lymphangiographic findings on ten patients who had clinical lepromatous leprosy in 1969. None of these patients had been on clofazimine therapy. Our study, therefore, was designed to assess the changes that might be seen in the lymphatic system of patients treated with clofazimine for the management of leprosy. Our findings are compared with those of Raasch and his colleagues.