The AP (10/20, Stobbe, Sainz) reports multiple states have reported an increase in drug overdose deaths since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The AP adds, “National data is incomplete, but available information suggests U.S. drug overdose deaths are on track to reach an all-time high.” Experts say the pandemic is to blame, because it “has left people stressed and isolated, disrupted treatment and recovery programs, and contributed to an increasingly dangerous illicit drug supply.”

Related Links:

— “US overdose deaths appear to rise amid coronavirus pandemic “Mike Stobbe And Adrian Sainz, AP, October 20, 2020

Psychiatric News (10/20) reports research tracking “patients with first-episode psychosis over a 12-year period points to several characteristics of patients that may predict those most likely to develop treatment-resistant schizophrenia.” For the study, investigators “identified 617 patients with a diagnosis of first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders enrolled in early intervention services” who were then “matched by sex, diagnosis, and age with 617 patients with first-episode psychosis who had received standard care services.” The study revealed that “patients with younger age of onset, poorer premorbid social adjustment during adulthood, longer duration of first episode, a greater number of relapses, and a higher level of [daily defined dose] of antipsychotic medication in the first 24 months had an increased risk of developing TRS [treatment-resistant schizophrenia] earlier.” The findings were published online in the Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Related Links:

— “Study Identifies Predictors of Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia, Clozapine-Resistant Schizophrenia, Psychiatric News, October 20, 2020

Healio (10/20, Gramigna) reports “flexible assertive community treatment (FACT)…a Dutch model of community-based mental healthcare that provides flexible, multidisciplinary support to people with severe mental illness,” appears to be “more effective than other models for individuals with severe mental illness,” investigators concluded in a large study that included data on “887 individuals in the CMHT-FACT group, 887 in the matched CMHT group, 130 in the ACT-FACT group and 130 in the matched ACT group.” The findings were published online Oct. 19 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Community treatment model effective for individuals with severe mental illness “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 20, 2020

Modern Healthcare (10/19, Bannow, Subscription Publication) reports “all of the health systems that responded to a recent” Kaufman Hall survey “expect it will be at least 2022 before their operations return to anything resembling a pre-pandemic ‘normal.’” The survey, conducted in August, “included 64 mostly hospital and health system respondents,” of which, “nearly three-quarters of respondents said they were moderately or extremely concerned about the financial viability of their organizations in the absence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine or treatment.” One-third “said they experienced year-over-year operating margin declines in excess of 100% between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020.”

Related Links:

— “Pre-pandemic ‘normal’ not expected until 2022, hospital execs say “Tara Bannow, Modern healthcare, October 19, 2020

MedPage Today (10/19, George) reports the narcolepsy medications “modafinil (Provigil) and armodafinil (Nuvigil) were both associated with major congenital malformations,” investigators concluded in “a post-marketing report.” That report revealed that “of 102 prospective live births in the U.S. Provigil/Nuvigil Pregnancy Registry, 13% had major congenital malformations, considerably above the prevalence of about 3% in the general population.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)