STUDY DESIGN: Consecutive inclusion of spinal cord injured patients admitted for postacute rehabilitation from June 2000 to January 2002. OBJECTIVE: Assessment of prevalence of indicators of psychological distress in the subacute and early chronic stages after acute-onset spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: A Swedish rehabilitation center. METHODS: In all, 36 patients participated. Psychological assessment was obtained at admission, discharge and 6 months follow-up by psychological measures based on the DSM-IV (ie Beck's Depression Inventory, SPIFA, SCID-screen, AUDIT) and clinical interview. Ongoing psychotropic medication was noted. RESULTS: Clinical depression was infrequent. However, ongoing psychotropic medication was common, possibly indicating a relatively high incidence of underlying depressive and anxiety disorders. In all, 25% of the sample showed indicators of high alcohol consumption. Few patients had a previously diagnosed personality disorder. By contrast, there was frequent occurrence of personality traits outside normal ranges. CONCLUSION: Medication of psychological problems commonly occurs after SCI, especially for depression and anxiety. There are indications of alcohol overconsumption in a substantial minority of SCI patients. The study raises the question of whether suppression of psychological symptoms by drug therapy is the optimal treatment of such problems in a rehabilitation process.
STUDY DESIGN: Consecutive inclusion of spinal cord injured patients admitted for postacute rehabilitation from June 2000 to January 2002. OBJECTIVE: Assessment of prevalence of indicators of psychological distress in the subacute and early chronic stages after acute-onset spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: A Swedish rehabilitation center. METHODS: In all, 36 patients participated. Psychological assessment was obtained at admission, discharge and 6 months follow-up by psychological measures based on the DSM-IV (ie Beck's Depression Inventory, SPIFA, SCID-screen, AUDIT) and clinical interview. Ongoing psychotropic medication was noted. RESULTS: Clinical depression was infrequent. However, ongoing psychotropic medication was common, possibly indicating a relatively high incidence of underlying depressive and anxiety disorders. In all, 25% of the sample showed indicators of high alcohol consumption. Few patients had a previously diagnosed personality disorder. By contrast, there was frequent occurrence of personality traits outside normal ranges. CONCLUSION: Medication of psychological problems commonly occurs after SCI, especially for depression and anxiety. There are indications of alcohol overconsumption in a substantial minority of SCI patients. The study raises the question of whether suppression of psychological symptoms by drug therapy is the optimal treatment of such problems in a rehabilitation process.
Authors: James Milligan; Joseph Lee; Matt Smith; Lindsay Donaldson; Peter Athanasopoulos; Kent Bassett-Spiers; Jeremy Howcroft; Jennifer W Howcroft; Tara Jeji; Phalgun B Joshi; Upender Mehan; Vanessa Noonan Journal: J Spinal Cord Med Date: 2018-12-17 Impact factor: 1.985
Authors: Colleen McMillan; Joseph Lee; Loretta M Hillier; James Milligan; Linda Lee; Craig Bauman; Michelle Ferguson; Karen Slonim; Kay Weber Journal: Arch Rehabil Res Clin Transl Date: 2019-11-06