[Infants with colic. A heterogenous group possible to cure? Treatment by pediatric consultation followed by a study of the effect of zone therapy on incurable colic]

INTRODUCTION

The aim of the study was to investigate and treat infants with colic by conventional medicine followed by an investigation of the effect of reflexological treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The investigation was prospective, followed by a randomised, single-blind, double-controlled, prospective study of reflexological treatment with an interview and diary. Sixty-three infants aged 1-3 months referred by general practitioners with crying for > 90 minutes a day were given a paediatric examination and intervention. The cause of crying was discovered in 33 infants: Vitamin D (5), elimination of cow's milk protein (3), and anal stenosis (3); counselling on feeding, sleep, reduction of stimulation, and avoidance of passive smoking (22). Thirty infants without the benefit of paediatric consultation were randomised to three groups for a duration of two weeks: A: Presumed non-effective reflexological treatment vs B: Presumed effective reflexological treatment vs C: No treatment--only observation. The most important parameter was the number of crying hours over 24 hours. Cure was defined as crying for less than or equal to 30 minutes.

RESULTS

Examination by the paediatrician: Thirty-three of 63 infants benefited with a reduction in crying of less than 90 minutes and 13 of these infants were cured. The randomised study: In group C (control), none of the patients was cured. In groups A and B (presumed non-effective reflexological treatment and presumed effective treatment), half the patients were cured, which was significantly better than in group C. There was no significant difference between groups A and B, but B seemed better than group A. B was significantly better than C.

DISCUSSION

Infantile colic had a significant cure rate at paediatric consultation and the children who did not benefit from this intervention had a significantly better outcome after reflexological treatment than had the observation group. Further investigations in reflexological treatment in infants are recommended.

Predictors for readmission risk of new patients: the Nordic Comparative Study on Sectorized Psychiatry

OBJECTIVE

Predictors for readmission risk were investigated in this study, which forms part of the Nordic Comparative Study on Sectorized Psychiatry.

METHOD

Included were a total of 837 consecutive 'new' patients (not in contact with the psychiatric services for at least 18 months) admitted to in-patient stay during a period of 1 year to seven psychiatric hospitals in four Nordic countries.

RESULTS

Multivariate survival analyses showed that younger age predicted increased readmission risk. Stratifying on gender, diagnostic group and sector revealed a general pattern concerning age which was the only consistent main effect. Living alone and unemployed increased readmission risk in the non-psychosis group, while receipt of aftercare decreased readmission risk in the psychosis group. A curvilinear relationship was found between availability of psychiatric resources and readmission risk: an intermediate amount of resources was associated with increased risk.

CONCLUSION

Our findings support a hypothesis that readmission risk is multifactorially determined and that interactions have to be considered.

Predictors of subjective quality of life in schizophrenic patients living in the community. A Nordic multicentre study

As part of a Nordic multi-centre study investigating the life and care situation of community samples of schizophrenic patients the aim of the present part of the study was to examine the relationship between global subjective quality of life and objective life conditions, clinical characteristics including psychopathology and number of needs for care, subjective factors such as satisfaction with different life domains, social network, and self-esteem. A sample of 418 persons with schizophrenia from 10 sites was used. The results of a final multiple regression analysis, explaining 52.3% of the variance, showed that five subjective factors were significantly associated with global subjective quality of life, together with one objective indicator, to have a close friend. No clinical characteristics were associated with global subjective quality of life. The largest part of the variance was explained by satisfaction with health, 36.3% of the variance, and self-esteem, 7.3% of the variance. It is concluded that the actual relationship between objective life conditions and subjectively experienced quality of life still remains unclear. Furthermore, it seems obvious that personality related factors such as self-esteem, mastery and sense of autonomy also play a role in the appraisal of subjective quality of life, which implies that factors like these are important to consider in clinical and social interventions for patients with schizophrenia in order to improve quality of life for these persons.