The Week in Review: March 20-24

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This week, Psychiatric Times® covered a wide variety of psychiatric issues and industry updates, from collaborative care for individuals with schizophrenia and COVID-19 to strategies for building patient rapport. Here are some highlights from the week.

Evenamide for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia

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Newron Pharmaceuticals recently announced results from study 014—a phase 2, randomized, open label, trial evaluating evenamide as an add-on to an antipsychotic (excluding clozapine) in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS).

In this study, 161 patients were randomized, 153 completed the 6-week treatment period, and 144 entered the extension study (study 015). The results of the entire study population are consistent with the findings from the first 100 patients at this timepoint. Continue Reading

Strategies for Building Patient Rapport

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Patients may not always be at their best when they arrive for an appointment; they may be dealing with their illness or with stress from traveling, etc. As a result, they may be harsh or abusive to office staff, question medical judgment, or simply avoid telling the truth about treatment adherence and other activities. Here we focus on strategies to help prevent and overcome those difficult situations and behaviors.

Build a trusting relationship. Patients want to please their doctor, and they want to know you care about them. Keep notes on important aspects of patients’ lives and inquire about those aspects. How was their trip to Disney? How are the kids doing in sports? Asking personal questions and building rapport with the patient beyond addressing clinical issues creates a bond. Continue Reading

ADHD and Smoking Cessation Outcomes With Varenicline

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The majority of adult users report first trying tobacco at ages 10 to 19 years. Recently, there has been an increase in new smokers at ages 18 to 23 years. Adolescent nicotine use is associated with increased risk of nicotine, alcohol, and psychostimulant use in adulthood.

Adolescents and adults with ADHD are more likely to smoke. Given these associations, investigation of the impact of ADHD symptoms on the response to smoking cessation interventions is warranted. Varenicline is an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine partial agonist that has limited evidence for efficacy in adolescents. Continue Reading

Schizophrenia and COVID-19: A Call for Collaborative Care

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The COVID-19 pandemic increased psychiatric, medical, and treatment risks for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. This article provides an overview of risk factors and an example of patient-centered, collaborative care to promote safety and stabilization while providing available treatment options for cooccurring diagnoses of COVID-19 and schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

COVID-19 and Increased Risks for Individuals With Schizophrenia

The stress of the COVID-19 crisis crashed in waves across our country and its care continuum. Hospitals, medical offices, and care centers were all impacted significantly. The psychiatric service line was unquestionably negatively affected. Modifications in mental health services occurred in response to growing concerns related to the pandemic and the impacted workforce. Continue Reading

See more recent coverage from Psychiatric Times here. And be sure to stay up-to-date by subscribing to the Psychiatric Times E-newsletter.

Do you have a comment on any of these or other articles? Have a good idea for an article and want to write? Interested in sharing your perspectives? Write to us at PTeditor@mmhgroup.com.