Pulmonology Advisor (10/16, Beth Maslowski) reported, “Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and a preexisting psychiatric illness, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), were more likely to develop intensive care unit (ICU) delirium, according to study results presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting, held virtually October 18 to 21.” Specifically, “researchers identified 150 patients with ARDS, 58 (38.7%) of whom were diagnosed with ICU delirium.” What’s more, “of the patients with ARDS and ICU delirium, 22.1% of patients were on anxiolytics prior to admission, compared to 7.6% of patients without delirium.”

Related Links:

— “ARDS With Preexisting Psychiatric Illness More Likely to Develop ICU Delirium “Mary Beth Maslowski, Pulmonology Advisor, October 16, 2020

CNN International (10/17, LeBlanc) reported that on Saturday, President Trump signed into law “the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act,” a “bipartisan bill that will make 9-8-8 the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline starting in 2022.” The bill, “which passed the House of Representatives last month after approval from the Senate and the Federal Communications Commission, will allow individuals seeking help to dial the three-digit number and be directed to the hotline.”

Related Links:

— “Trump signs law designating 9-8-8 as universal number for national suicide hotline starting in 2022 “Paul LeBlanc, CNN, October 17, 2020

Healio (10/15, Gramigna) reports, “Psychosocial interventions in combination with psychotherapy appeared beneficial for outpatients with bipolar disorder,” researchers concluded in a study that “included 39 randomized clinical trials with 3,863 participants that compared pharmacotherapy plus manualized psychotherapy with pharmacotherapy plus a control intervention for patients with bipolar disorder.” The findings were published online Oct. 14 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Psychiatric News (10/15) quotes an accompanying editorial that observes the study “may further serve as a call to action to enhance availability and uptake of these treatments in the community.” The editorialists added, “Unfortunately, data suggest substantially lower rates of psychotherapy receipt (26%-50%) compared with medication management (46%-90%) among adults with [bipolar disorder].”

Related Links:

— “Adjunctive psychotherapy may benefit patients with bipolar disorder “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 15, 2020

HealthDay (10/14, Preidt) reports catheter ablation “is more effective than medications in reducing dementia risk in people with the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (AF),” according to researchers who “analyzed data on patients…including more than 9,100 who had catheter ablation and nearly 18,000 who were treated with medications” and found that “catheter ablation reduced the incidence of dementia by 27% compared to medication.” The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.

Related Links:

— “A-Fib Treatment Reduces Patients’ Dementia Risk “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 14, 2020

MedPage Today (10/14, George) reports, “Severe apathy in cognitively normal older people was tied to an increased risk of future dementia,” investigators concluded after following “2,018 white and Black community-dwelling older adults in the NIH’s Health, Aging, and Body Composition” cohort. The study revealed that “compared with older adults who had low levels of apathy, those with severe apathy were nearly twice as likely to develop probable dementia.” The study authors posited their research provides “novel evidence for apathy as a prodrome of dementia.” The findings were published online Oct. 14 in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)