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Background: Inpatient treatment (meso level) in psychiatric hospitals is commonly assumed to be effective. However, there is very little evidence-based data on this issue. Objectives and methods: First evaluation of the outcome quality of an inpatient general psychiatric treatment in a German general hospital using multifaceted quality indicators (symptom severity, wellbeing, self-efficacy, depressive avoidance, patients' satisfaction with the treatment)was carried out. Patients with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses (ICD-10 F2-F6) were randomly assigned to this naturalistic single-group pre-post study. For ethical and methodological reasons, only adult inpatients treated in open general psychiatric wards were enrolled. Results: The sample (n = 110, 58.2% females) had a mean age of 47.2 (SD 15.9) years. 67 (60.9 %) and 29 (26.4 %) patients had at least one or two additional psychiatric diagnoses, respectively. 84 (76.4 %) and 62 (56.4 %) patients had a minimum of one or two additional somatic diagnoses, respectively. The treatment lasted 38 (SD 36; median 28.5) days. Significant positive treatment effects for all quality indicators were found at regular hospital discharge. The effect sizes varied between Cohen's d = 0.17 - 0.62 ("intention-to-treat" population, n = 110) and d = 0.28 - 0.99 ("completer" population, n = 70). Discussion and conclusion: This study provides direct evidence for the effectiveness of an open inpatient general psychiatric hospital treatment at the meso level. The results, however, are not representative for all German general psychiatric wards because of major differences between hospitals in personnel resources and framework conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To shed more light on the role of heart rate and blood pressure during cannabis withdrawal. Methods: Post-hoc analysis of data collected during a prospective inpatient monitoring of withdrawal symptoms of 39 (8 female) adult (median 27 year old) treatment-seeking, predominantly white cannabis-dependents (Bonnet et al., Drug Alcohol Depend 2014; 143: 189-97). Beyond tobacco smoking, the body mass index, electrocardiogram and routine laboratory results were considered to estimate the cohort's risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Results: Abrupt cessation of recreational long-term daily cannabis use was not followed by significant changes in heart rate, blood and pulse pressure. Also, these measures were not significantly correlated with the severity of the cannabis withdrawal syndrome. The cohort's risk for CVD was moderate (all tobacco using, overweight in 9 of 35 patients and elevation of serum C-reactive protein in many patients). Its metabolic risk for CVD was minor considering the mostly normal blood pressure, normal serum lipids and glucose. Discussion: This merely minor metabolic risk might have contributed to the missing effects of cannabis cessation on the basic cardiovascular functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are high interindividual differences regarding the intensity of withdrawal symptoms in opiate addicts. This study was carried out in order to test whether the intensity of withdrawal is influenced by the 393T>C polymorphism of the GNAS1 gene. Only patients addicted exclusively to opiates were included. Thirty-three out of 39 patients undergoing inpatient detoxification treatment achieved a drug-free state. During the most intense period of withdrawal (stop of methadone and following days) TT homozygotes (n=4) had a significantly higher pulse rate (primary outcome criterion) than C-allele carriers (n=29). This study and a previous study about GNB3 825C>T underline the possible role of G-protein polymorphisms in the interindividual variability of opiate withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parotitis is a fairly uncommon adverse drug reaction of psychopharmacological treatment. Here, we report on an acute bilateral parotitis, which was associated with titration of venlafaxine in a 20-year-old female suffering from a severe depressive episode. The parotitis recovered quickly with oral penicillin and was most likely caused by bacteria assumed to spread from oral flora into Stensen's duct as a complication of pronounced venlafaxine-induced xerostomia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain rather rare information about the influence of chronic cannabis abuse on thyroid function. Methods: Thyroid function tests (TSH, total T3 , free T4 ) of 39 chronic cannabis-dependent subjects (ICD-10) were determined at admission (for in-patient detoxification). In a subgroup, serum levels of thyroid hormones were correlated with the serum levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, N = 24) and its major metabolites, THC-OH (N = 16) and THC-COOH (N = 24). Results: All of the tested patients were found to have TSH, total T3 and free T4 levels within the population reference range. The levels of thyroid hormones did not correlate significantly with levels of THC, THC-OH or THC-COOH in serum. Conclusion: These results argue against a relevant influence of chronic cannabis intake on thyroid function in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]