One-Day Behavioral Intervention for Distressed Veterans with Migraine: Results of a Multimethod Pilot Study

Introduction

Migraine, a chronic neurological disorder characterized by episodic severe headache pain and functional impairment, affects approximately 12% of the general US population. Veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have two to four times the incidence of migraine of the general population. Veterans with migraines are more than twice as likely to have comorbid psychiatric conditions as veterans without migraines, with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder being most prevalent. This psychiatric-migraine comorbidity is of major public health significance, as it leads to decreased quality of life, poorer response to migraine and mental health treatment, and overall worse prognosis. Unfortunately, acceptable and effective treatments for these comorbid problems have rarely been investigated. The aims of this study are to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of a 1-d acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) plus Migraine Education workshop.

Method

Twenty-five veterans with migraines and co-occurring depression and/or anxiety completed the 1-d ACT plus Migraine Education workshop. Veterans completed assessments of depressive and anxiety symptoms, general functioning, headache-related disability, and ACT-specific skills at baseline and 3 mo after the workshop. Changes from baseline to 3-mo follow-up on the self-report and clinician-rated measures were assessed using the paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Veterans also completed semistructured qualitative interviews documenting their experiences with the workshop 2 wk and 3 mo following the intervention. Qualitative data were analyzed via directed content analysis. Individual codes were aggregated into larger themes agreed upon by consensus.

Results

At 3-mo follow-up, veterans significantly improved in depressive and anxiety symptoms, general functioning, and headache-related disability compared with baseline. Additionally, veterans significantly improved in pain acceptance and engagement in valued life areas. In interviews, veterans indicated that the migraine education helped them feel more knowledgeable about their condition, and this empowered them to better manage their headaches, including talking to their physician about medication adjustments. The ACT component led to greater awareness of the role stress plays in exacerbating pain and ways to manage this stress, including greater acceptance and greater engagement in valued life activities. For some, however, the role of stress in exacerbating migraines needed to be highlighted more. Veterans appreciated being in a group with other veterans with similar health difficulties and wanted this to be incorporated into ongoing care at the Veterans Affairs medical center. The patient education manuals were useful to the veterans, with some referring to them during the months following the workshop.

Conclusion

Findings of this small trial have important implications pending replication in a more rigorously designed large-scale study. A 1-d ACT plus Migraine Education workshop is an acceptable and feasible treatment approach for veterans with migraines and significant distress. Significantly reduced distress and disability, as well as improved coping skills, suggest that veterans were activated to engage more fully in their lives and clinical care. The availability of an effective transdiagnostic intervention that can be completed in 1 d is particularly valuable for veterans who have multiple comorbid conditions and who encounter practical barriers to engaging in the usual prescribed weekly therapy treatments.

A risk assessment scoring system predicts survival following the Norwood procedure

No one set of characteristics has been consistently predictive of perioperative mortality and morbidity associated with the Norwood procedure. The purpose of the current study is to further validate a scoring system shown to be predictive of mortality following the Norwood procedure. We performed a retrospective review of all infants with the diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) who underwent the Norwood procedure at St. Louis Children's Hospital from July 1, 1994, to December 31, 2002. A weighted score for each of six factors comprised the scoring system. The factors included ventricular function, tricuspid regurgitation, ascending aortic diameter, atrial septal defect blood flow characteristics, blood type, and age. A score of > or = 7 points indicated lower reconstructive mortality risk, and a total score of < 7 points indicated a higher mortality risk. A total of 57 patients were analyzed. Twenty-five infants (44%) had a low risk score. These infants had a significantly greater survival at 48 hours compared to infants with a score of < 7 (92 vs 75%, p < 0.05). Infants with a high risk score had a significantly greater relative risk of mortality at 48 hours [OR = 2.04; confidence interval (CI) 1.04-4.00; p = 0.036]. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is 0.8534 (95% CI, 0.78-0.922). This suggests that the scoring system has a very good degree of discriminatory power in selecting children who did not survive. Based on the results of the ROC, a cutoff score of >7 gives the best sensitivity and specificity for survival. When applied retrospectively, the survival outcomes predicted by our scoring system significantly correlated with actual outcomes. This supports the conclusion that a specific population of HLHS patients may have a higher mortality risk independent of surgical technique and postoperative care based on factors that can be assessed preoperatively.

[Pediatric lung transplantation]

Approximately 700 transplants world-wide have been performed in patients aged less than 18 years; in contrast, over 11,000 lung transplants have been performed in adults. The major diagnostic group is cystic fibrosis. An emerging group of patients are infants born with congenitally based pulmonary diseases such as surfactant protein B deficiency. Survival in children is very similar to that in adults, although it is generally perceived that children are at higher risk. For instance, no children have been transplanted for chronic obstructive lung disease (a low-risk diagnostic group) while this disease comprises approximately 40% of all adult lung transplantations. Immunosuppression generally consists of cyclosporine, azathioprine and prednisone. Post-transplant complications in children are similar to those observed in adults. Around 40% of patients will develop bronchiolitis obliterans approximately 3 years after transplantation and this remains the major impediment to long term survival. Donor shortage is also a significant obstacle, especially in adolescents. As a partial solution to this problem, living donor lung transplantation has taken on a greater role in our program. Although this is a complex, expensive treatment strategy, lung transplantation remains the most effective therapy for end-stage pulmonary parenchymal and vascular diseases even in children.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease in children: correlation of histology to clinical behavior

PURPOSE

To determine whether the morphologic features of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) correlated to a response to therapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We reviewed our experience with PTLD in the pediatric population. We identified 32 patients with a total of 36 episodes of PTLD. The diagnosis was confirmed by tissue examination and classified according to the degree of monomorphic features of the lesion. Thirty-four of 36 episodes were managed with immunosuppression reduction, and the patients were assessed for their response to this strategy. Chemotherapy was used to treat 10 of 15 patients who had progressive disease, and their subsequent course was also analyzed.

RESULTS

Sixteen of 17 (94%) patients with polymorphic morphology responded to immunosuppression reduction compared with only 5 of 17 (29%) patients with monomorphic features (P < 0.001). All of the patients with progressive disease who did not receive additional therapy died. Standard chemotherapy regimens for lymphoma were administered to 10 patients with progressive disease, with a high response rate (90%), durable remissions, and acceptable toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the morphologic characteristics of PTLD provide information to potentially help guide treatment strategies in the management of this disease. Standard chemotherapy regimens for malignant lymphoma appear to be a viable treatment option for patients with progressive disease, although further investigation is needed.

Infected sternotomy wounds

Three babies who developed infection in their median sternotomy wounds are reported. In one child, a retrosternal abscess was drained and in the other two cases, the wounds dehisced. The wound cavities were filled with a rectus abdominis myocutaneous island flap and in each case, the wounds healed primarily. Early flap repair resolved the infection, shortened the hospital stay and provided protection to the exposed mediastinum.