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Biomedical subjects

F Poustka

Publications and source records attributed to F Poustka.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

[Psychological effects of military low altitude flight practice on children].

In a 2-step epidemiological study child psychiatric disorders, psychophysiological reactions and psychosocial stressors of 376 children aged 4 to 16 were recorded in two regions of Westphalia (West-Germany) with different frequencies of military low-level flights. No essential impairment of the children's health was found. However, below a clinical level we noticed significantly higher anxiety syndromescores (and to some extent of depression syndromescores) and a tendency towards higher psychophysiological arousal in the high-noise area along with no differences in psychosocial stressors. Implications of these results and aspects of child-psychiatric assessment instruments' use are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Epilepsy, anticonvulsive treatment and child psychiatric conspicuousness].

Seventy-nine children suffering from epileptic seizures who were seen at a clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry for behavior disorders were compared with a control group from the same clinic matched by age, sex and IQ. Significant differences were found between the two groups in the percentages diagnosed as having "no psychiatric disorder", "neurotic or emotional disorder" and "specific disorder following brain damage". Neither the type nor the frequency of epileptic seizures was found to have an influence on the type of psychiatric disturbance. Only a small proportion of the children with epilepsy (12%) had psychiatric symptoms, which if present were compatible with the diagnosis "organic psychosyndrome". No abnormal psychosocial situations were found to be specific for epilepsy, but the type of medication (especially barbiturates) had a significant influence on the incidence of conduct disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Combined treatment of autism].

In this detailed case report we describe the inpatient treatment of an eight-year-old boy with infantile autism. A multiple modality approach was used that included holding therapy as recommended by Prekop (1983), educational therapy and lithium treatment. The aim of holding was two-fold: to achieve interpersonal contact with the child and to improve his ability to concentrate on learning tasks. The educational therapy also served to increase his attention span and, later to initiate language acquisition. Lithium treatment resulted in better control of behavior and in improvement of mood.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1982

[Gradual discharge as part-time inpatient treatment].

About 34 p.c. of the patients coming from Mannheim or outskirts treated in the child and adolescent psychiatric clinic situated in the centre of Mannheim attended a kindergarten, a public school or being at work outside the clinic while in part-time in-patient treatment or before release. These patients scored somewhat but not significantly higher on intelligence tests, had better school attainment and consisted of a relatively higher proportion of females compared with patients who were not involved in activities outside the clinic. Diagnostically a somewhat greater number of psychosis, neurotic/emotional disorders were found among the part-time group and they showed also more associations with abnormal familial background, a higher proportion of part-time patients were not discharged to their families and have been treated for a longer time respectively. Not related to the length of treatment a significantly more positive successful treatment could be demonstrated among the part-time group. Particular aspects of a more realistic approach of treatment are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

[Connexions between instrumental delivery and cerebral damage in the infant (author's transl)].

An interdepartmental investigation was carried out on the incidence of brain injury, especially so-called minimal brain injury, after instrumental delivery of infants by means of forceps or vacuum extractor. There is no statistically-significant difference in the incidence of brain injury in infants delivered by means of forceps as compared with the vacuum extractor; there is, however, a significant increase in incidence of brain injury in infants following instrument-aided delivery as opposed to spontaneous delivery. A thorough explanation of the methods is given and the results are discussed.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rates for tic disorders and obsessive compulsive symptomatology in families of children and adolescents with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

The aim of this study was to assess rates for tic disorders and obsessive compulsive psychopathology in families of children and adolescents with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS). Diagnoses were based on the DSM III-R criteria. Obsessive compulsive psychopathology, that did not fulfill the criteria for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was additionally assessed and termed obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS). The authors hypothesized that comorbid OCD or OCS in TS patients predicts a higher familial loading with obsessive compulsive symptomatology. The study cohort included 87 patients with TS who were evaluated clinically and with the use of a structured psychiatric interview. All available parents (152/174; 87%), several sibs (49/93; 53%) and some second degree relatives (27/659; 4.1%) were also interviewed. For other first and second degree relatives the family history method was used. Familial rates for TS were clearly elevated. Rates for chronic tic disorders (CT) were considerably lower than in previous studies. Additionally, tic disorders not otherwise specified (TDNOS) were diagnosed in a substantial number of first degree (15/267; 5.6%) and second degree relatives (36/659; 5.5%). OCD in parents (4/174; 2.3%) did not occur in an above baseline rate. However, both OCD (14/87; 16.1%) and OCS (15/87; 17.2%) were frequently associated with TS in index patients. Interestingly, 10 of 16 fathers with OCS also had a tic disorder. Obsessive compulsive psychopathology clustered in families. It is concluded that genetic studies in TS could profit from adhering to a conservative diagnostic approach to both tic disorders and OCD. The familial clustering of OCS/OCD in conjunction with the elevated paternal rate for the co-occurrence of tic disorders and OCS might indicate heterogeneity of TS.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychosocial diagnosis in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents.

This study examines the relevance of a psychosocial diagnostic system developed by the World Health Organization (WHO; International Classification of Diseases [ICD] 10 axis V) for psychiatrically hospitalized inpatient adolescents and assesses the reliability of semistructured interviews for making these psychosocial diagnoses. Seventy-one consecutive patients admitted to an adolescent unit and their parents were interviewed. The semistructured interviews were derived from the criteria for each psychosocial (axis V) diagnosis. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability were measured for both child and parent interviews on a subsample of 57 and 25 subjects, respectively. Results showed high inter-rater reliability (kappa = 0.8 to 1.0). Some test-retest reliabilities were high and others were low (kappa = 0.4 to 1.0). Parent-child agreement was erratic (kappa = 0.2 to 0.7). All of the psychosocial diagnostic entities were common and relevant to our patient population. We conclude that it is possible to make reliable and relevant psychosocial diagnoses in severely ill adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns of parent-reported problems indicative in autism.

Parental report Child Behavior Checklists (CBCL) of 77 male and female subjects aged 4-18 years were analyzed in this study. Individuals had been given diagnoses of autistic disorder using the Autism Diagnostic-Interview-Revised (ADI-R) within a research project on the genetics of autism. A feature of behavior problems independent of sex but influenced by age and IQ level could be identified for the autistic sample with highest relative scores on the scales measuring attention problems, social problems and thought problems and low scores on the scale for somatic complaints.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Temperament and disruptive behavior disorders.

In several studies on children with conduct disorder, difficult temperament in infancy was one of the major variables in the explanation of later aggressive behavior. According to these studies, subjects with a combination of high novelty seeking, low harm avoidance and low reward dependence (NS high, HA + RD low) should be most at risk for the development of disruptive behavior disorders. The Junior Temperament and Character Inventory was given to a clinical sample of 65 adolescent patients of both sexes with the diagnoses of conduct disorder (with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), emotional disorder (anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depressive disorder), eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia) or personality disorder (borderline and narcissistic personality disorder). High novelty seeking and low harm avoidance were significantly correlated with externalizing symptoms like aggression and delinquency. In conduct-disordered children and adolescents, we found significantly higher scores of NS compared to the other clinical groups and the normative population, and significantly lower scores of harm avoidance compared to the other clinical groups, but not compared to the normative population. The relative risk of having a conduct disorder was markedly higher in those children and adolescents with elevated scores of novelty seeking.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stability and interpersonal agreement of the interview-based diagnosis of autism.

Interpersonal agreement and stability of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) was examined in this study. Four raters judging 55 subjects agreed moderately to excellently on the items of the diagnostic algorithm, operationalizing the main autistic symptoms according to the classification guidelines of ICD-10 and DSM-IV. When retesting 33 individuals, some items revealed only weak stability. On the level of domains of autistic behavior and diagnosis, the interrater reliability and retest reliability were consistently convincing.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Coping with illness by chronically ill adolescents and young adults--an empirical study].

From June 1990 to January 1991 86 chronically ill adolescents and young adults who had come to the vocational assessment unit of the rehabilitation center or for vocational guidance to the rehabilitation hospital, both in Neckargemünd/Germany, were examined with regard to their coping with their illnesses. The Freiburg questionnaire for coping with illness was applied, and the Trait-instruction was given because persons with inborn disabilities were part of the sample. Also, the type of illness or disability and motorial handicap as well as the non-verbal intelligence were included. The results of three different medical diagnosis groups don't show any differences in the coping with illness. Persons with motorial handicaps are able to cope with their disabilities as well as persons without motorial handicaps. Adolescents and young adults with inborn or early acquired illness/handicap show a greater loss of confidence in the medical doctors than persons who were taken ill at the age of 6 or later.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The Frankfurt child and adolescent psychiatry documentation system--development and methodological principles with reference to quality assurance].

Measures to ascertain qualified work in child and adolescent psychiatry have become a great necessity, because of increasing financial pressures and changing laws. One basic measure should be a documentation system, which should include reliable basic data on the patient, standardized data of the psychopathological status and the latest version of the Multiaxial Classification System (MAS). The second chapter gives a brief overview of the historic development of documentation systems in psychiatry resp. child and adolescent psychiatry. Only very recently a trend toward a generally binding standardization has emerged. The third chapter describes the general methodological principles of clinical documentation. Finally, the Frankfurt Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Documentation System is presented, which has been developed between 1987 and 1993 at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the Frankfurt University School of Medicine. It is presently used in several german university hospitals. It consists of a six-part documentation sheet, a detailed glossary and a special computer program for data entry and data administration. It includes sociodemographic and anamnestic data, the psychopathological and somatic status, diagnostic assessment for the MAS and data on therapeutic measures and treatment outcome. The computer program, which can be used on any IBM-compatible PC, allows easy data input on the screen, controls distribution of case numbers, plausibility of important core data and ongoing security copies. The possible use of the documentation system for clinical quality assessment is discussed.

Adolescent↗