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Introduction: The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is a test which takes into account both patients answers to the questions and the doctors observations, enabling the doctor to rate psychiatric symptoms. It is not always easy to assess objectively the severity of psychopathology, especially in emergency, which is why BPRS is a valuable and widely used instrument to provide quick and adequate information. Objectives: To assess the psycopathology severity and structure of patients admitted in Psychiatric Emergency Department using BPRS. Methods: This is a descriptive study of 115 patients who were admitted in the Emergency Department of Psychiatric Hospital "Xhavit Gjata" in the time period April - August 2019. All the patients were evaluated by a psychiatrist and resident by being administered the 24-item BPRS (version 4.0) within 24 hours of their admission. The data were analyzed using SPSS-22.0. Results: In our sample the symptoms that weremost frequently scored highly were hostility (78%), unusual thoughts content (76%), hallucinations (68%), bizarre behaviour (61%), self-neglect (60%), motor hyperactivity (57%), suicidality (43%), anxiety (40%). In patients with mood disorders, which made up 42% of the sample, were also found prevalent with high scores either elevatedmood (36%) and grandiosity (29%) or depression (56%) and emotional withdrawal (62%). Conclusions: BPRS is a valuable instrument which helps the clinician measure the structure and intensity of psychiatric symptoms. This is helpful in determining the diagnosis, set up efficient management and treatment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Many patients presenting in the primary health care for somatic symptoms also present mental health problems which are not always properly addressed Objectives: To screen for depressive symptoms in the outpatient population over 50 years old. Methods: From 01.07.2019 to 31.08.2019, patients over 50 years old who received outpatient treatment in the primary health care were asked to be administered PHQ-9. 120 of them agreed and the data were analyzed with SPSS-22. Results: From the 120 participants, 48% (N=58) were 50-64 years old, and 45% (N=54) were males. 66% (N=79) reported symptoms of severe depression, 26% (N=31) moderately severy, 6% (N=7) moderate depression and the other 3 participants had no symptoms of depression. According to the data analysis, females in the age group 65-96 were more affected by depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Depression remains an underdiagnozed condition in primary care, with many patients presenting for another health problem but when screened for depression score high on screening tools like PHQ-9. The most affected group is females from 65 to 96 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human resources in mental health in Albania, a three million population LMIC, are essentially scarce as presented in a number of WHO publications over the last decade. The ‘Reform’ of the system of care in mental health is much spoken about during the last 20 years using ‘community mental health care’ as a basic keyword in national official documents describing short and long-term plans. The objective of the presentation is to describe the shortcomings in a developmental agenda when priority in building capacities is missing, pointing to nurses in mental health as a particularly important component. Data from different WHO and other UN publications are organized to offer a contextualized picture of the situation compare to other countries in the region too. Results are presented to fuel a discussion on how to prioritize the possible education activities/strategies in the way that the huge gap is starting being filled in a meaningful way for the benefit of the existing network of mental health institutions/services and future developments considering financial constrains and massive migratory trends on educated nurses. Establishing and strengthening the system of continuing education for nurses is presented as possibly the best solution besides other paths need being taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been at least two deaths in Albania linked to ritualistic/satanic practices, which have provoked considerable public concern. Until the 1990s, Albania was strictly atheist. However, since then some religious sects have been establishing themselves. In fact, satanic killings and ritualistic deaths are rare in Albania. We describe two such cases that occurred in 2020 along with consideration of the psychological profiles of perpetrators and victims.The first case involved two deaths: a mother and daughter whose bodies were found near each other, with another daughter in attendance who was diagnosed as clearly psychotic, and legally did not face any charge thereafter. This daughter was witnessing the decomposition of her sister's mummified corpse. She said she was waiting for the "Messiah" to resurrect her. Apparently, while performing ritualistic ceremonies, the daughter and her mother refused food until the mother died from starvation. It was at that point that police broke into the house and discovered the situation.The second case involved a young woman who was found dead, apparently following a trivial infection. Her body (abdomen and dorsum) had written symbols on it, suggesting Satanism and the occult.A detailed analysis of the death scenes and crime scenes provide valuable data for further proceedings, but psychological evaluation of the perpetrators may prove more difficult, and more so where the victims have died.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Albanian authorities declared mandatory stay-at-home measures, closing businesses, schools, and public places. This study aims to investigate the impact of these immediate changes on the mental well-being of the population., Methodology: Respondents ( N = 1678) aged 18-60 years were selected through a convenient sampling method. A questionnaire was administered online for 26 days, where respondents reported the time spent daily in the COVID-19 topic and filled in their generalities, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7., Results: Findings suggest a significant negative correlation between age and anxiety scoring ( r (n = 1678) = -0.121, P ≤ 0.001) and between age and depression scoring ( r (n = 1678) = -0.232, P ≤ 0.001), shown also on the ANOVA test for age and anxiety ( F = 6.019, P ≤ 0.05), where younger populations had higher anxiety levels, as well as age and depression ( F = 20.326, P ≤ 0.05), where older populations had higher levels of depression. Differences on the level of education resulted in a lower score of anxiety and depression ( F = 3.524, P ≤ 0.05; F = 7.739, P ≤ 0.05, respectively) on respondents with higher education. Those who found themselves jobless from the pandemic scored higher on anxiety and depression ( F = 9.760, P ≤ 0.05; M = 6.21, ds = 4.686 and F = 16.051, P ≤ 0.05; M = 8.18, ds = 5.791, respectively) compared with those who are still working. Significant differences were found on the ANOVA test related to different amounts of time spent daily on the COVID-19 topic for anxiety and depression ( F = 25.736, P ≤ 0.001; F = 5.936, P ≤ 0.003, respectively), with people who spend <1 h scoring higher on depression (M = 7.57, ds = 5.849) and those who spent >3 h scoring higher on anxiety (M = 6.76, ds = 5.60). On the t -test, people on a romantic relationship scored lower levels of depression (t = -4.053, P ≤ 0.0001) compared to single individuals, and females scored higher levels of anxiety ( t = 12.344, P ≤ 0.001) compared to males., Conclusions: Younger participants score higher levels of anxiety and depression. Higher education individuals show lower levels of anxiety and depression. Having a job translates into lower levels of anxiety and depression. People who spent more time on the COVID-19 topic daily have higher levels of anxiety, whereas those who spent less time have higher levels of depression. Being in a romantic relationship relates to lower levels of depression. Females report higher levels of anxiety compared to males., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Indian Journal of Psychiatry.)

Background: Despite systematic vaccination of the population, tetanus continues to be a health problem in Albania, as in some other developing countries. In this study, our intent was to evaluate prognostic factors relating to death in adult patients with generalized tetanus., Methodology and Patients: All the patients (60) included in the study were hospitalized at the regional hospitals of Shkodra and Korça, and the University Hospital Centre "Mother Theresa" of Tirana, Albania, during the period of 1984-2004. They had a mean age of 49.1+14.4 years, 43 (71.7%) were males and 40 (66.6%) of them lived in rural areas. The mean incubation period was 12 days and the case-fatality rate (CFR) was 38.3%., Results: The CFR in patients with an onset period ≥2 days was 21.7% and in those with <2 days was 48.6%, OR=0.29 (p<0.05). Patients >50 years old had a CFR=60.87% (OR=7, p<0.05). We found the high CFR to be significantly associated with urban residency, male gender, complicated wound, head localization, fever ≥ 38.4 °C, tachycardia > 120 beats/min, and hypertension., Discussion: The main prognostic factor of those analyzed in our study appeared to be the onset period and the age of the patients. We didn't find significant differences in CFR in patients with different incubation periods. Clinicians must take into account that wound complication and localization, tachycardia and hypertension, high fever, male gender and urban residency significantly influence the prognoses of adults with generalized tetanus.

Purpose: Established hemostatic devices can injure vessel wall integrity. LeGoo (Pluromed, Woburn, MA), a novel poloxamer gel with reverse thermosensitive properties, is a new device for temporary occlusion of blood vessels. The present study investigated the effects of LeGoo on vascular function and morphology., Description: The distal end of the human internal thoracic artery was used to assess vascular function of LeGoo-applied segments in organ bath experiments and by scanning electron microscopy., Evaluation: After LeGoo application, both maximal contractile responses to noradrenaline and endothelium-dependent relaxant responses to acetylcholine were significantly reduced. Scanning electron microscopy showed areas of injured endothelium with exposure of subendothelial structures being in line with the functional changes., Conclusions: Data suggested that application of LeGoo induced significant endothelial injury and deterioration of the smooth muscle in human internal thoracic arteries., (Copyright © 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)