Gastric hypomotility is a common clozapine side effect that can develop into the potentially lethal condition of paralytic ileus. Dr. Aiken’s covered these risks in The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Here’s what you need to know.Dangers of Paralytic Ileus: Hypomotility is very common. Clozapine is the worst offender out of any...

There’s good reason to be careful prescribing Z-drugs. Here’s an overview of Dr. Reban Aziz’s recent article in The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report.Safety Tips Go short-term or intermittent to reduce the potential for adverse events and withdrawal. Avoid for SUD or complex sleep disorders.  Use as last resort after considering...

There’s been some promising research for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), but can it be used for treatment-resistant depression in children and adolescents? Here’s a summary of the pros and cons presented in this 2019 article in The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report. Pros:It seems to work. An open-label trial of TMS for...

Linda Chokroverty, MD, is the attending physician at the Montefiore Health Systems in Bronx, NY; Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Co-Chair of the Disaster and Trauma Issues Committee with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Buprenorphine and methadone, the cornerstones of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), are subject to more restrictions than other medications due to their inherent risks and concerns for diversion. These restrictions obligate that people receiving medications for OUD present to the clinic or opioid treatment program (OTP) frequently for refills...

The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health issued an emergency expansion of what psychiatric nurse practitioners are allowed to do on psychiatric inpatient units.

My COVID news feed is filled with articles about how CDC is considering recommending that everybody wear face masks. It’s about time.

Social distancing is very difficult on our typically crowded and small inpatient units. The ultimate social distancing technique is to avoid setting foot in the unit, which is where telehealth comes in. 

Social distancing on a psychiatric inpatient unit is not easy but it must be done. Here are some tips. It’s helpful to break these strategies out into four categories: visitors, patient/patient, staff/staff, and staff/patient.

Seven ways that psychotic depression differs from major depression, from physical signs to neurobiology. The treatment of psychotic depression differs as well, and the answer is not always an antipsychotic-antidepressant combination. A different kind of therapy can bring their remission rates to over 90%.Published On: 2/24/20Duration: 21 minutes, 9 secondsArticle Referenced: "An Answer...