Journal of psychosomatic research
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A factor analytic study of the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 in untreated patients with delirium.
Existing factor analytic studies of symptoms of delirium are mostly based on small numbers of patients from specialized settings. This study thus sought to examine the factor structure of symptoms of delirium in a reasonably large sample of untreated patients referred to liaison psychiatric services of a multi-specialty hospital in north India, employing the more commonly used Delirium Rating Scale-Revised Version-1998 (DRS-R-98). ⋯ Thus, the current factor analysis not only confirmed the presence of three principal symptom dimensions of delirium (found in several previous studies) but also extended these findings to a broader group of patients usually referred to liaison psychiatric services.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Two sessions of sleep-focused mind-body bridging improve self-reported symptoms of sleep and PTSD in veterans: A pilot randomized controlled trial.
Sleep disturbance is highly prevalent among veterans. As an alternative to sleep medications with their undesirable side effects, nonpharmacological mind-body interventions may be beneficial for sleep management in primary care. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether a novel mind-body intervention, mind-body bridging (MBB), focusing on sleep, could improve self-reported sleep disturbance and comorbid symptoms in veterans. ⋯ This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief sleep-focused MBB could be a promising intervention for sleep and potentially other comorbid symptoms (e.g., PTSD). MBB could help patients develop awareness skills to deal with sleep-related symptoms. Integration of MBB into primary care settings may enhance care of patients with sleep disturbance and co-morbid symptoms.
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Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) leads to a significant reduction in fatigue severity and impairment in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the effect of CBT for CFS on fatigue and impairment is mediated by a decrease in avoidance behavior and focusing on fatigue. ⋯ A decrease in the focus on fatigue seems to contribute to the treatment effect of CBT for CFS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Intervening on cognitions and behavior in irritable bowel syndrome: A feasibility trial using PDAs.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic, and often disabling disorder. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in alleviating IBS symptoms. The aim of this study was to establish the feasibility and the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral e-intervention using personal digital assistants (PDAs) on the self-management of IBS patients. ⋯ A cognitive-behavioral intervention on pocket-type computers appears feasible and efficacious for improving IBS-related complaints and cognitions in the short-term. The intervention group improved on several aspects, but most on catastrophizing thoughts, and these improvements even persisted after 3 months. Future studies should focus on unravelling the effective components of this innovative e-health intervention.
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Medically unexplained symptoms (MUSs) are a humanitarian and economic burden. Among them, pain complaints without organic pathology are the most prevalent. Theoretically, activated illness-related memory may cause reporting of symptoms by changing perception and interpretation of bodily signals to the extent that they are not tolerated and become complaints. We tested whether activating illness-related memory without conscious awareness leads to decreased pain tolerance (PT). ⋯ The findings suggest that PT can be involuntarily decreased by activating illness-related memory. This implies partial evidence for a crucial element of a cognitive model of medically unexplained symptoms, which holds that chronically activated illness-related memory causes the development of somatic complaints without observable bodily pathology.