What Should Students and Trainees Learn About Patient-Centered Documentation?

What clinicians document about patients can have important consequences for those patients. Paternalistic language in patients' health records is of specific ethical concern because it emphasizes clinicians' power and patients' vulnerabilities and can be demeaning and traumatizing. This article considers the importance of person-centered, trauma-informed language in clinical documentation and suggests strategies for teaching students and trainees documentation practices that express clinical neutrality and respect.

Evaluating smoking cessation interventions in China's primary care facility networks for hypertensive patients aged 45 years and older: A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: In China's aging population, hypertension, aggravated by smoking, constitutes a substantial health concern. However, the effectiveness of the national public health interventions for smoking cessation under the Essential Public Health Services remains unverified. Our aim was to examine smoking prevalence, the proportion of individuals receiving smoking cessation advice, its impact on successful cessation among Chinese hypertensive patients aged ≥45 years, and to discern disparities in the coverage and efficacy of smoking cessation interventions between primary care facilities and hospitals. METHODS: Employing a longitudinal cohort approach, we examined four waves (2011-2018) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). We surveyed a nationally representative cohort of hypertensive individuals, accounting for smoking status, cessation advice, healthcare preferences, and 11 pertinent covariates. RESULTS: Among the 4269 hypertensive patients, smokers were predominantly male, aged <65 years, with lower education and lower wealth. Smoking prevalence decreased from 25.2% in 2011 to 21.1% in 2018. The incidence of physician-provided smoking cessation advice reached a peak of 60.3% in 2015, decreasing to 54.8% in 2018. Visitors to primary care facilities reported the highest rate of advice reception. While patients receiving advice exhibited a higher smoking prevalence, instrumental variable regression and subgroup analyses found no significant correlation between advice receipt and successful cessation. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a substantial smoking prevalence among older hypertensive Chinese individuals and limited effectiveness of existing cessation programs. This underscores the necessity for augmenting primary care and devising a comprehensive health policy for more successful smoking cessation interventions, particularly considering China's rapidly aging population.

Characteristics of patients seeking outpatient smoking cessation treatment before and after the implementation of a smoke-free law in Valencia (Spain): a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Explore potential changes in the characteristics of patients requesting smoking cessation treatment at an outpatient setting in Spain before and after Law 42/2010 was enacted. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study with convenience sampling. The information was obtained from the medical records of patients receiving smoking cessation treatment from January 2008 to December 2014. SETTING: Hospital Clinico Universitario de Valencia. PARTICIPANTS: 423 patients who sought smoking cessation treatment 36 months before or 48 months after the enactment of the law. RESULTS: After the enactment of a comprehensive smoke-free law in Spain, the patients seeking smoking cessation treatment were older (p=0.003), had lower values of exhaled CO (p<0.0001), lower number of previous attempts to quit (p=0.027) and more history of medical problems related to smoking (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: Our findings support the idea that society-nation level interventions could have an impact at the individual level, reflected by the change of patients' characteristics. It seems that the Law 42/2010 mobilised certain group of patients to seek treatment.

Predictors of initiation of nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine use: Results of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There may be substantial overlap in the risk factors for substance use and substance use disorders (SUD). Identifying risk factors for substance use initiation is essential for understanding the etiology and natural history of SUD and to develop empirically-based preventive interventions to reduce initiation. METHODS: Analyses were done on Wave 1 participants of the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) (n = 43,093). Estimates of the cumulative probability of substance use initiation were obtained separately for nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine. Survival analyses with time-varying covariates were implemented to identify risk factors for substance initiation. RESULTS: The lifetime cumulative probabilities of substance initiation were 45.5% for nicotine, 82% for alcohol, 19.6% for cannabis, and 6.4% for cocaine. Among respondents with lifetime nicotine use, 50% had used it by age 15.3, whereas for alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine the respective ages were 17.8, 16.6, and 19.8. Previous use of another substance, being male, having a cluster B personality disorder, family history of SUD, and being separated, divorced, or widowed increased the risk of use of all the substances assessed, whereas social anxiety disorder and some personality disorders were associated with specific substances. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Although the age of substance use initiation varies by substance, in more than 50% of cases initiation of use occurs in the first two decades of life. Although most risk factors for substance use initiation are common across substances, some are substance-specific. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This information may help in the development of empirically-based preventive interventions. (Am J Addict 2018;27:477-484).

Cannabis Use and Risk of Psychiatric Disorders: Prospective Evidence From a US National Longitudinal Study.

IMPORTANCE: With rising rates of marijuana use in the general population and an increasing number of states legalizing recreational marijuana use and authorizing medical marijuana programs, there are renewed clinical and policy concerns regarding the mental health effects of cannabis use. OBJECTIVE: To examine prospective associations between cannabis use and risk of mental health and substance use disorders in the general adult population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A nationally representative sample of US adults aged 18 years or older was interviewed 3 years apart in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (wave 1, 2001-2002; wave 2, 2004-2005). The primary analyses were limited to 34 653 respondents who were interviewed in both waves. Data analysis was conducted from March 15 to November 30, 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: We used multiple regression and propensity score matching to estimate the strength of independent associations between cannabis use at wave 1 and incident and prevalent psychiatric disorders at wave 2. Psychiatric disorders were measured with a structured interview (Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV). In both analyses, the same set of wave 1 confounders was used, including sociodemographic characteristics, family history of substance use disorder, disturbed family environment, childhood parental loss, low self-esteem, social deviance, education, recent trauma, past and present psychiatric disorders, and respondent's history of divorce. RESULTS: In the multiple regression analysis of 34 653 respondents (14 564 male [47.9% weighted]; mean [SD] age, 45.1 [17.3] years), cannabis use in wave 1 (2001-2002), which was reported by 1279 respondents, was significantly associated with substance use disorders in wave 2 (2004-2005) (any substance use disorder: odds ratio [OR], 6.2; 95% CI, 4.1-9.4; any alcohol use disorder: OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.9-3.8; any cannabis use disorder: OR, 9.5; 95% CI, 6.4-14.1; any other drug use disorder: OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6-4.4; and nicotine dependence: OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.4), but not any mood disorder (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.8-1.4) or anxiety disorder (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.7-1.1). The same general pattern of results was observed in the multiple regression analyses of wave 2 prevalent psychiatric disorders and in the propensity score-matched analysis of incident and prevalent psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Within the general population, cannabis use is associated with an increased risk for several substance use disorders. Physicians and policy makers should take these associations of cannabis use under careful consideration.

Increased prospective health service use for depression among adults with childhood onset bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prospective relationship between age of onset of bipolar disorder and the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment, new onset of psychiatric comorbidity, and psychosocial functioning among adults with bipolar disorder. STUDY DESIGN: As part of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, 1600 adults who met lifetime Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition criteria for bipolar disorder-I (n = 1172) and bipolar disorder-II (n = 428) were included. Individuals were evaluated using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-IV version for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, and data were analyzed from Waves 1 and 2, approximately 3 years apart. Individuals with bipolar disorder were divided into three age at onset groups: childhood (<13 years old, n = 115), adolescence (13-18 years old, n = 396), and adulthood (>19 year old, n = 1017). RESULTS: After adjusting for confounding factors, adults with childhood-onset bipolar disorder were more likely to see a counselor, have been hospitalized, and have received emergency room treatment for depression compared with those with adulthood-onset bipolar disorder. By contrast, there were no differences in the severity of mania or hypomania, new onset of comorbidity, and psychosocial functioning by age of bipolar disorder onset. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood-onset bipolar disorder is prospectively associated with seeking treatment for depression, an important proxy for depressive severity. Longitudinal studies are needed in order to determine whether prompt identification, accurate diagnosis, and early intervention can serve to mitigate the burden of childhood onset on the long-term depressive burden of bipolar disorder.

Probability and predictors of transition from abuse to dependence on alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the transition from substance abuse to substance dependence. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to estimate the cumulative probability of developing dependence and to identify predictors of transition to dependence among individuals with lifetime alcohol, cannabis, or cocaine abuse. METHODS: Analyses were done for the subsample of individuals with lifetime alcohol abuse (n = 7802), cannabis abuse (n = 2832), or cocaine abuse (n = 815) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Estimated projections of the cumulative probability of transitioning from abuse to dependence were obtained by the standard actuarial method. Discrete-time survival analyses with time-varying covariates were implemented to identify predictors of transition to dependence. RESULTS: Lifetime cumulative probability estimates indicated that 26.6% of individuals with alcohol abuse, 9.4% of individuals with cannabis abuse, and 15.6% of individuals with cocaine abuse transition from abuse to dependence at some point in their lives. Half of the transitions of alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine dependence occurred approximately 3.16, 1.83, and 1.42 years after abuse onset, respectively. Several sociodemographic, psychopathological, and substance use-related variables predicted transition from abuse to dependence for all of the substances assessed. CONCLUSION: The majority of individuals with abuse do not transition to dependence. Lifetime cumulative probability of transition from abuse to dependence was highest for alcohol, followed by cocaine and lastly cannabis. Time from onset of abuse to dependence was shorter for cocaine, followed by cannabis and alcohol. Although some predictors of transition were common across substances, other predictors were specific for certain substances.

Probability and predictors of relapse to smoking: results of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to estimate rates of relapse to smoking in the community and to identify predictors of relapse. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the probability of relapse at Wave 2 among individuals who were abstinent at Wave 1 given length of abstinence as well as the presence of several sociodemographic, psychopathologic and substance use-related variables at Wave 1. RESULTS: The risk for relapse among individuals who had been abstinent for 12 months or less at the baseline assessment was above 50%. Among individuals who had been abstinent for over a year, risk of relapse decreased hyperbolically as a function of time, and stabilized around 10% after 30 years of abstinence. Although several sociodemographic, psychopathologic and tobacco-related variables predicted relapse in univariate analyses, only younger age at cessation and shorter duration of abstinence independently predicted risk of relapse in multivariable analyses. CONCLUSIONS: The first year after a quit attempt constitutes the period of highest risk for relapse. Although the risk for relapse decreases over time, it never fully disappears. Furthermore, younger age at smoking cessation also increases the risk for relapse. This information may help develop more targeted and effective relapse prevention programs.

Probability and predictors of cannabis use disorders relapse: results of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

BACKGROUND: This study aims to estimate the odds and predictors of Cannabis Use Disorders (CUD) relapse among individuals in remission. METHODS: Analyses were done on the subsample of individuals with lifetime history of a CUD (abuse or dependence) who were in full remission at baseline (Wave 1) of the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) (n=2350). Univariate logistic regression models and hierarchical logistic regression model were implemented to estimate odds of relapse and identify predictors of relapse at 3 years follow up (Wave 2). RESULTS: The relapse rate of CUD was 6.63% over an average of 3.6 year follow-up period. In the multivariable model, the odds of relapse were inversely related to time in remission, whereas having a history of conduct disorder or a major depressive disorder after Wave 1 increased the risk of relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that maintenance of remission is the most common outcome for individuals in remission from a CUD. Treatment approaches may improve rates of sustained remission of individuals with CUD and conduct disorder or major depressive disorder.

Examining the course of hallucinatory experiences in children and adolescents: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Childhood and adolescence represent the periods during which hallucinatory experiences occur at the greatest prevalence, and also constitute a critical window of vulnerability for the pathogenesis of psychotic disorders. The longitudinal course of hallucinatory experiences during late childhood and adolescence, as well as their relationship to psychotic disorders, has never been the subject of review. METHODS: We followed the PRISMA guidelines for conducting systematic reviews and combined the use of electronic and manual systematic search methods. Data were extracted upon pre-defined requested items and were analyzed using several epidemiological measures. The interpretation of the results was conducted in relation to the study design variables. RESULTS: A total of 11 datasets (6 epidemiological and 5 clinical) were reviewed. The baseline prevalence of hallucinatory experiences ranged from 4.9% to 9%. Discontinuation occurred in between 58.7% and 94.5% of the cases, and person-year discontinuation rates ranged from 3% to 40.7% and appeared to be related to the duration of follow-up. Despite low person-year incidence rate, incident cases constituted between 27.7% and 83.3% of outcome samples. 2 of 3 studies showed evidence to predict transition to psychosis with likelihood ratios of 2.5 and 6.6. CONCLUSIONS: Hallucinatory experiences are a common experience during childhood and adolescence. A review of the current literature suggests that there is a considerable turnover of incident-discontinuing cases and that most cases discontinue in the short term. A subset of the cases was at risk for persistence or transition to psychosis, probably related to indicators of severity of the hallucinatory experience.

Solitary neurofibroma in the abdominal wall of a patient without neurofibromatosis: case report

Introducción. Los neurofibromas solitarios son tumores benignos de carácter hereditario, que presentan variantes. Las manifestaciones clínicas cambian según su localización y, ocasionalmente, son similares a las de la neurofibromatosis. Usualmente, los neurofibromas están localizados en piel y raramente en otras partes. El único tratamiento es la resección quirúrgica. Su transformación maligna y recurrencia son poco usuales. Objetivo. Reportar el caso de un paciente masculino de 19 años, sin neurofibromatosis, con un neurofibroma solitario en pared abdominal. Materiales y métodos. Se incluyeron artículos encontrados en Proquest, Pubmed y Ovid. Las palabras clave utilizadas en la búsqueda fueron neurofibroma, tumores de la vaina neural y reporte de caso. La búsqueda está actualizada hasta el 24 de mayo de 2007. Conclusiones. Éste parece ser el primer reporte de un caso con estas características en la literatura médica en inglés y en español.

Introduction. Solitary neurofibromas are benign tumors, often the manifestation of neurofibromatosis, and reflect a hereditary pathology with several variants. The clinical manifestations of solitary neurofibromas change according to their location and can generate a variety of symptoms. Usually, solitary neurofibromas are located in the skin and rarely in other places. Surgical removal is the only treatment; malignant transformation and recurrence are unusual. Objective. A case is reported of solitary neurofibroma in the abdominal wall of a 19-year-old patient without neurofibromatosis. Materials and methods. Articles included are from Proquest, Pubmed and Ovid databases. Key words used were neurofibroma, tumors of the neural sheath, and case report. The search is current as of May 24, 2007. Conclusions. This case appears to be the first one with these characteristics reported in the English and Spanish medical literature.

Solitary neurofibroma in the abdominal wall of a patient without neurofibromatosis: case report.

INTRODUCTION: Solitary neurofibromas are benign tumors, often the manifestation of neurofibromatosis, and reflect a hereditary pathology with several variants. The clinical manifestations of solitary neurofibromas change according to their location and can generate a variety of symptoms. Usually, solitary neurofibromas are located in the skin and rarely in other places. Surgical removal is the only treatment; malignant transformation and recurrence are unusual. OBJECTIVE: A case is reported of solitary neurofibroma in the abdominal wall of a 19-year-old patient without neurofibromatosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Articles included are from Proquest, Pubmed and Ovid databases. Key words used were neurofibroma, tumors of the neural sheath, and case report. The search is current as of May 24, 2007. CONCLUSIONS: This case appears to be the first one with these characteristics reported in the English and Spanish medical literature.