To evaluate Young-onset dementia (YOD) services in terms of referral, its appropriateness, time to diagnosis and other criteria as per protocol that we have adapted.

Case notes of those under 65 referred to Memory service for cognitive assessment between July 2017 and June 2018 were retrospectively reviewed to look at the time to diagnosis, appropriate referrals, post-diagnostic support, etc.

Compared to the previous evaluation, the number of patients referred to had increased from 47–48/ year earlier to 63/year. Only 1/3 were appropriate referral over the 10-year period whereas between 2017 and 2018 more than half were appropriate referrals. More than half of them were seen within 12 weeks of referral (35/63 available). Only 132/252 were diagnosed as having some form of dementia in the previous evaluation which was about 13 cases of YOD a year. In contrast, in our new evaluation 19 patients were diagnosed with some form of dementia. Inappropriate referrals had reduced by more than 50%. Appropriateness and timely referral had improved in this time frame.

Dementia is considered ‘young onset’ when it affects people under 65 years of age. It is also referred to as ‘early onset’ or ‘working age’ dementia. However, this is an arbitrary age distinction that is becoming less relevant as increasingly services are realigned to focus on the person and the impact of the condition, not the age. Teaching sessions to educate primary & secondary care clinicians on appropriateness and timely referrals have helped in improving the care for patients with YOD. Services need to be developed further to be able to diagnose & support those with YOD. Repeat evaluations every year would help to inform improvement in quality & appropriateness of referrals.

Triple chronotherapy (sleep deprivation for 36 h, followed by 4 days of advancing the time of sleep and daily morning bright-light therapy for 6 months) has demonstrated benefits for the rapid treatment of depressive symptoms in four small controlled trials of in-patients.

To test the feasibility of recruitment and delivery of triple chronotherapy for out-patients with depression (ISRCTN17706836; NCT03405493).

In a single-blind trial, 82 participants were randomised to triple chronotherapy or a control intervention. The primary outcome was the number of participants recruited per month and adherence to the protocol. Secondary outcomes included the 6-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD-6) at 1 week. Timings of observer ratings were baseline and 1, 2, 4, 8 and 26 weeks after randomisation.

The triple chronotherapy group stayed awake for the planned 36 h and 89.9% adhered to the plan of phase advance of their sleep over the following 4 days. We achieved our recruitment target (60 participants completed the trial within 13 months). There were no reported adverse side-effects. We found a significant difference between the groups by intention-to-treat analysis for the HRSD-6 at weeks 1, 8 and 26. There was a large effect size of Cohen's d = 0.8 on HRSD-6 score at week 1, increasing to d = 1.30 at week 26. A response (≥50% reduction in symptoms) was achieved by 33.3% in the triple chronotherapy group and 16.2% in the control group. This stayed relatively steady until week 26 (35.9 v. 13.9%).

Triple chronotherapy produced a significant and rapid benefit after 1 week in out-patients with depression that was sustained at 26 weeks. Cost-effectiveness trials with a larger clinical sample are required.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on our ability to communicate face-to-face with patients freely. Similar to other medical specialities and general practice (1), to continue providing a service for our service users, we employed other means of communication including telephone and video consultations (although face-to-face consultations were available for high clinical concern and/or identified risk). We set out to explore the acceptability of remote consultation for service users of an older adult (>65 years) Community Mental Health Team (CMHT).

Reference: BMJ 2020;371:m3945

A total of 34 service users were selected randomly from the CMHT caseload (9% of total 372 caseload). 4 clinicians were involved in collecting data between July and October 2020. We used our trust's (East London Foundation Trust) standard questionnaire on patient satisfaction and contacted individuals by telephone to complete the survey.

For both questions of ‘I felt listened to by the team’ and ‘I feel I have been given enough information regarding my care’ 17 (50%) responders ‘agreed’ with this statement and an additional 13 (38%) ‘strongly agreed’ (total of 88%). For the statement ‘I feel involved in decisions about my care’ 16 (47%) responders ‘agreed’ and a further 11 (32%) responders ‘strongly agreed’ with this statement. The statement ‘The professionals involved in my care talk to each other and we all work as a team’ had 15 (44%) responders ‘agree’ and 13 (38%) responders ‘strongly agree’. When asked ‘If you experienced telephone/video sessions, were these helpful?’ 31 responders said ‘yes’.

Overall most responders agreed or strongly agreed that they felt listened to, were given enough information about their care, felt involved in decisions about their care and that they worked as a team with the professionals involved in their care. 91% of responders felt that the video/telephone sessions had been helpful. These data have provided reassurance that telemedicine methods were a useful substitute for face-to-face consultations during the early stages of the pandemic. However this was a small scale study. This study cannot tell us about the experience after the initial 6 months of the pandemic, how often it would be optimal for people have face to face reviews, or whether satisfaction with telemedicine altered over a longer period. We were also not able to tell whether the experience varied for those who had less robust and longstanding relationships with their clinicians.

In this project our aim was to improve patient safety and care by reducing hypnotic prescription medication administration. We also wanted to reduce over-prescribing/unnecessary prescribing which has a negative pharmaceutical impact on the environment and is a huge expenditure issue for the NHS. NICE guidance for Insomnia management states “After consideration of the use of non-pharmacological measures, hypnotic drug therapy is considered appropriate for the management of severe insomnia interfering with normal daily life; it is recommended that hypnotics should be prescribed for short periods of time only, in strict accordance with their licensed indications” Side effects are common with hypnotic usage including, most importantly, the development of tolerance and rebound insomnia.

The interventions we implemented included the development of an educational presentation about insomnia, the development of an “Insomnia Management Flow chart” to be used at admission point, training sessions for ward staff, shared teaching programmes with patients at their sleep management sessions, face to face and email correspondence to inform medical trainees about this project and gathering feedback from patients and staff before and after this project.

The results of this project demonstrated a total reduction in hypnotic tablet administration was very significant with a 44.5% reduction post intervention.

This demonstrates the positive change in our clinical practice that has resulted from our interventions. This will improve patient safety and reduce cost of hypnotic medications for the NHS. Following on from this initial intervention, we feel that we can continue to make further changes and expand the changes we made on this ward, to other similar wards in our hospital, trust and to other inpatient psychiatric wards further afield.

The mental health burden of COVID-19 has been examined in different settings. Existing research has relied on the latent variable model in assessing COVID-19-related distress. Network theory provides an alternative framework wherein symptoms are conceptualised as causal, interconnected constituents rather than outcomes of mental disorders.

To assess networks of self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms among quarantined individuals.

Consenting individuals in different quarantine centres in Qatar completed the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety and Depression Scale. We used partial correlation network methods to illustrate interactions of self-reported psychopathology.

Participants with COVID-19 were significantly older and had a significantly higher proportion of males. The most central node was COVID-19, followed by thoughts of self-harm. COVID-19 status was strongly positively connected to thoughts of self-harm, which was positively connected to psychomotor changes, which were connected to decreased concentration. COVID-19 status was also positively connected to feeling anxious, which was strongly connected to inability to concentrate, which was connected to feeling afraid.

COVID-19 was the most influential factor, with the highest number and strength of connections to psychopathology in a network of anxiety and depressive symptoms in a quarantine setting. Beyond the resolution of the infection, therapeutic interventions targeting psychomotor changes might prove beneficial in reducing suicidality among quarantined individuals with COVID-19. Follow-up with mental health services after COVID-19 infection is needed to restore psychological well-being. Further research is needed to understand the short- and long-term psychological effects of COVID-19, and the outcomes of different therapeutic interventions.

Recruitment into psychiatry is a major issue nationally. Northern Ireland (NI) consistently punching above it's weight with psychiatry recruitment - in a region that only attracts 31.8% of F2s to enter into any training programme, Core psychiatry has been consistently oversubscribed. Here we look to examine the experiences of F2s in NI, including those who have had a placement in psychiatry and those who have not - what can we learn from NI?

The exposure to psychiatry during the F2 year is a crucial time for recruitment to psychiatry. In NI, where there has been an 100% fill rate at core training level for many years, trainees and consultants have pointed towards a positive experience in the F2 year.

Questionnaires were given out at a sample of F2 Generic Skills sessions, gathering a range of quantitative and qualitative data. A representative sample of over half of current F2s wrote about there preconceptions and experiences of psychiatry, whether they had worked in it or not. An a priori approach was taken towards generating codes as part of a framework analysis from which 4 major themes were identified.

93/148 F2 doctors who were approached responded to the survey of which 36.6% had experienced a Foundation placement in psychiatry. Major qualitative themes that emerged were exposure to psychiatry, the nature of working in psychiatry, being valued and stigma. Doctors who had an F2 placement were much more likely to be willing to pursue a career in it, regardless of whether they had been allocated a placement with psychiatry by choice or not.

This survey adds to the literature that exposure to psychiatry in undergraduate and postgraduate level has a huge role in shaping attitudes towards the specialty of psychiatry, and indeed the likelihood of a foundation doctor going on to become a psychiatry trainee. Stigma in the medical profession towards mental illness and psychiatry remains prevalent.

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery provides various services for patients with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), including a four-week inpatient rehabilitation programme run by an integrated Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) of Occupational Therapists (OT), Physiotherapists (PT), Psychologists and Psychiatrists.

We had observed that patients with FND often have medical and psychiatric comorbidities including affective, dissociative, somatic symptom and pain disorders; pharmacological treatments are commonly used. We hypothesised that a high burden of medication, particularly of those which produce dependence, might limit one's ability to entrain therapeutic strategies and therefore benefit from treatment. We additionally hypothesised that patients who had previously tried individual physical or psychological therapies might gain less than those who were treatment-naïve.

In this service evaluation project, we reviewed records from 97 consecutive elective inpatient admissions, comprising the entire intake for 2019 and 2020. Data were extracted from the inpatient discharge summary and therapies discharge report of each patient. We recorded which therapies for FND patients had previously tried (OT; PT; Speech and Language Therapy; Psychology; Pain Service) and the classes of medications they were taking on admission (opiates; benzodiazepines; antidepressants; mood stabilisers; antipsychotics; gabapentinoids). We compared the differentials in outcome measures recorded on the first and last day, including the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (n = 79) and EQ-5D-5L (n = 79). Statistical tests of effect size and significance were done using SPSS-25. Group comparisons of EQ-5D-5L were made with Paired t-tests; all other comparisons were done with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests due to non-normal data.

The most common medications used were antidepressants (72%), gabapentinoids (39%), opiates (36%) and benzodiazepines (25%). 69% of patients had tried PT, 57% psychology and 52% OT, while only 13% were treatment naïve. Whole-cohort analysis revealed highly significant improvements (p < 0.001) in occupational performance, satisfaction, ratings of general health, subjective difficulty in performing tasks and in pain and fatigue levels. We found no significant differences in outcome measures that correlated with past therapies or medication use.

Our analysis shows that the great majority of our patients gained meaningful benefits from their admission, both on clinician-rated metrics of occupational performance and patient-rated measures of subjective improvement. That there was no significant relationship with therapies or medications suggests, promisingly, that patients taking various medications and with suboptimal responses to previous therapy can still benefit from our MDT programme. Limitations include correlational design, limited generalisability to the general population, missing data for certain outcome measures and the absence of follow-up data.

The inpatient population of an older adult psychiatric ward will include people with physical and mental health conditions which affect life span and quality of life. Patients may be frail, acutely unwell, or have terminal illnesses such as dementia. It is therefore essential that clinicians review resuscitation status as part of their routine practice. However, we are aware that advanced decision-making – to resuscitate or not to resuscitate – is not routine practice across older adult psychiatric wards in the UK. Our 2017 audit reflected this, demonstrating a very low rate of resuscitation decisions at NELFT.

This re-audit aimed to measure the frequency and quality of resuscitation decisions on an older adult psychiatric ward. We expected improvements in these areas, subsequent to changes implemented from the initial audit. We also sought to identify which patient factors influenced clinicians’ decision-making on resuscitation.

Please note, this audit was completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2017, an audit of 25 patients admitted to two older adult psychiatric acute wards was completed. In December 2019, a retrospective analysis of the last 25 admissions to one older adult ward was undertaken. Electronic patient notes and DNACPR (Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) orders were examined. The audit measured frequency of resuscitation decisions and quality of documentation against current standards. DNACPR orders were analysed and clinicians were interviewed to identify the reasons for such decisions.

There was an increase in the number of patients for which resuscitation decisions were made, from 4% in 2017 to 40% (n = 10) in 2019. The majority of patients with a DNACPR decision (n = 8) had a diagnosis of dementia. Prospective quality of life, with this diagnosis, was the most frequent determinant of DNACPR decisions (n = 7). Qualitative analysis indicated that clinicians were more likely to consider a resuscitation decision for patients with an organic disorder rather than functional disorder.

Adequate completion of DNACPR orders was seen in each case. Either the patient, a family member or carer was involved in every decision. The standard for recording decisions on the electronic patient record was not met.

It is good practice to consider resuscitation decisions for patients admitted to older adult psychiatric wards. This re-audit found an improvement in frequency of resuscitation decisions and also revealed differences in decision-making for patients with organic and functional disorders. Implementation of further change is indicated; decision-making can be improved through reflection, teaching, changes to practice, and technologies.

Prenatal adversity is hypothesized to increase risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) via epigenetic changes. Maternal stress in late pregnancy may alter offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes by disrupting a unique period of rapid neurogenesis. Observational studies reporting an environmentally mediated programming pathway face challenges in drawing causal inferences including passive gene-environment correlation. This project aims to use a quasi-experimental genetically informed design to assess if reported correlations between maternal prenatal stress and offspring ASD traits were due to maternally inherited factors or consistent with a potentially causal prenatal exposure effect. No previous cross-fostering studies have assessed the effects of prenatal stress on childhood ASD.

This study used an in-vitro fertilization cross-fostering sample with pregnant mothers related (n = 365) or unrelated (n = 111) to their offspring (mean age = 9.84 years). Prenatal stress was assessed using a subjective Likert scale during pregnancy. Questionnaires examined maternally rated offspring ASD traits using the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist. Birth weight and gestational age from medical records were used as comparison outcomes to validate the measure of stress as evidence suggests they are influenced by environmental factors. Correlations from multiple regression models were examined in relation to magnitude of effect size as well as significance. This is partly due to small sample size and that cross-fostering designs rely on comparing magnitudes of associations between related and unrelated groups. An interaction term was used to test the difference in the strength of association between related and unrelated mother-child groups.

Subjective assessment of prenatal maternal stress showed construct validity as it was associated with low birth weight (β = –0.297, p = 0.005) and reduced gestational age (β= –0.320, p = 0.001). Subjective late pregnancy stress was associated with increased offspring ASD traits in the whole sample (β = 0.089, p = 0.073) and in the related (β=0.045, p = 0.424) and unrelated mother-child (β=0.233, p = 0.029) subgroups. Non-significant interaction terms demonstrated that the mechanisms underlying the association between maternal stress and ASD and birth outcomes are likely to be similar and environmentally driven in the different conception groups.

Findings demonstrate the utility of genetically informed designs in disentangling inherited factors from environmental influences in the study of prenatal risk factors. Correlations between maternal prenatal stress and offspring ASD being present in both related and unrelated mother-child groups indicate an environmental link that is consistent with a potential causal effect. Associations detected are of imperative use for clinicians and policymakers, as they can guide the implementation of early psychosocial care for families at high liability.

To evaluate the potential of interactive virtual reality in teaching and training Postgraduate Psychiatry Trainees in the Keele Cluster

Face to face supervised clinical experience will always be the best way to train and learn, followed by using simulated patients in practice scenarios allowing a safe environment in which to practice and train without risk. However, the practicalities of a busy NHS often mean that the expense and time required for both of these are not possible and often PowerPoints and handouts in induction are used to prepare new starters in Psychiatry, which is clearly suboptimal. Interactive Virtual Reality (IVR) allows trainees to not only be immersed in a simulation but take control, choosing the direction of questioning for example. It also allows the training to be easily repeated and scaled to any number of students, anytime and anywhere there is an internet connection.

Following successful funding from the RCPsych General Adult Faculty we chose three common scenarios that a new started in Psychiatry would face. These included acute agitation/rapid tranquilisation, a patient wishing to leave/section 5(2) and a patient with tachycardia following clozapine initiation. Using established guidelines and literature, in conjunction with feedback from subject matter experts and practicing clinicians, scenarios were written. We then researched the best hardware and software to make this possible, ensuring that the resources required were realistic to allow accessibility to as many trainees as possible.

Creating IVR is challenging but an engaging medium. Achieving consensus on the training material is time consuming yet paramount to a good training session. Producing high quality videos is extremely resource intensive requiring large amounts of computing power and storage. However, the outcome is an engaging and practical alternative to face to face training.

The possibilities for IVR for are vast. For example, trainees can practice different methods of asking questions (e.g. open vs closed) and how this affects the outcome. Training could be produced centrally and then shared, allowing best practice to be disseminated. It could improve and standardise induction, especially considering the expanding workforce. It could also improve recruitment, allowing an immersive experience of Psychiatry to those who would otherwise be unable to obtain shadowing. It also has a role in patient safety – demonstrating common scenarios that the trainee may face allowing them to practice in a safe environment.

This study aimed to evaluate the patterns of antipsychotic prescribing in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP) at the time of their initial treatment and over the first year with the Early Intervention Service (EIS). It was hypothesised that different care teams would have a preference for certain antipsychotic medications and that initial medication choice would be continued through the first year.

Research indicates that with the exception of clozapine, all antipsychotics are equally as effective. However, anecdotally it has been observed that inpatient and crisis teams and EIS have differing initial medication choices.

An analysis of the North West Sussex EIS caseload (n = 67) was conducted. The first antipsychotic prescribed and initiating team was recorded. Prescribed medication for those that had completed 12 months (n = 43) with EIS after initial prescription was recorded. An analysis was performed of prescribing choice by initial care team (acute vs EIS vs other community services) with the frequency with which medication was changed during treatment.

97% (n = 65) of patients were started on an antipsychotic. Initial medication choice was olanzapine (44.8%, n = 30), aripiprazole (22.4%, n = 15), risperidone (20.9%, n = 14), quetiapine (6%, n = 4) and zuclopenthixol were least common (1.5%, n = 2). At the 12 month point 51.2% (n = 22 of 43) had switched and 16.3% (n = 7 of 43) had discontinued.

The most common medication started by acute services was olanzapine (56.0%, n = 28 of 50), though of those who completed 12 months this had been switched in 53% of cases (n = 9 of 17). EIS most commonly initiated aripiprazole or risperidone (37.5% each n = 4). At 6 and 12 month follow-up by EIS, the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic was aripiprazole (24 patients 40.7%, and 14 patients 32.6% respectively).

There was a clear preference for olanzapine as initial treatment of First Episode of Psychosis in the region. On breakdown it was apparent that there was a split in prescribing choices between more sedating medication in acute services and less sedating medication in EIS. Given that most patients changed to less sedating and less metabolic active medications over their first year it is not clear why alternative options are not used at the start of treatment. Future research will focus on clinician's rationale for initial prescribing choice. This will look for any underlying bias toward specific medications.

Despite evidence from case series, the comorbidity of eating disorders (ED) with psychosis is a challenging field to which little attention has been paid. There is no consistent sequence in the co-occurrence of the two conditions-eating disorders sometimes precede, and sometimes follow the onset of psychosis. In this case report, we present a 25-year-old female patient suffering from recurrent episodes of binge eating and inappropriate compensatory purging behaviours with psychotic components to discuss the co-occurrence of these conditions in the light of the literature.

Our patient suffered from sleep disturbances, homicidal thoughts, self-induced vomiting worsened in one year. Psychiatric examination revealed psychotic symptoms such as blunted affect, persecutory delusions, and delusions of appeal and justification. In our inpatient psychiatry clinic, she was treated with olanzapine 20 milligrams(mg) and quetiapine 500 mg per day.

Psychotic episodes occur in 10–15% of eating disorder patients. The prevalence of primary psychotic diseases like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders in eating disorder patients appears to be comparable to that in the general population. An ED can be the early sign of an impending psychosis, or psychotic symptoms can signal the beginning of an ED. The advent of the psychosis, and sometimes the treatment of the psychosis can cure the eating disorder, but it can sometimes aggravate it. The case presented illustrates the difficulties in managing a patient with a comorbid eating disorder and psychosis. To ensure a rigorous assessment of both psychotic and eating disorder symptoms, the focus should be on the pattern of appearance or emergence of symptoms, their phenomenology, clinical and family background of the patient, and clinical status on follow-up.

The comorbidity between eating disorders and psychosis is infrequent and raises several conceptual and methodological questions. Epidemiological and family studies show that there is no more significant association between psychosis and ED, although these results are somehow limited by the lack of rigorous data regarding ED.

OCD is a chronic and debilitating psychiatric illness. Current first-line treatments include serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioural therapy, but a substantial minority of patients fail to respond adequately, requiring further forms of intervention usually provided in a sequenced algorithm. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) uses magnetic pulses passed through a coil placed on the scalp to stimulate the underlying brain region. Clinical trials of r-TMS in OCD have produced conflicting results, possibly related to the variability in the site of stimulation, protocols used, and variability in the selection of patients. We perform an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of rTMS for the treatment of OCD aimed to determine whether certain rTMS parameters (i.e. site, duration, protocol etc.) or patients’ characteristics (i.e age, duration of illness, illness severity, treatment resistance etc), are associated with effectiveness. Our overarching aim is to determine the place of rTMS in the sequenced OCD care-pathway.

The meta-analysis is pre-registered in PROSPERO (ID: 241381). Potentially relevant studies will be retrieved using the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library databases using the parameters [‘obsessive compulsive disorder’ or ‘OCD’ or ‘obsessions’ or ‘compulsions’] AND [‘transcranial magnetic stimulation’ or ‘TMS’]. The reference lists of retained articles will also be scrutinized for additional relevant publications. Only full text English language articles will be included in the review. The methodological quality of the studies will be assessed using CONSORT criteria. A summary of the study's quality as a randomized clinical trial will be produced.

Our preliminary analysis shows some efficacy for r-TMS in non-treatment resistant OCD than treatment resistant OCD. Detailed results will be presented in the poster at the event. Effect measure will be either categorical (e.g. relative risk (RR) or odds ratio (OR) or continuous (mean difference or standardized mean difference - Hedge's g or Cohen's d - when taking into consideration the severity of the disorder as a dimension). These outcomes will be measured through validated instruments, in the form of both self- rated scales and observer rated scales including semi-structured interviews.

This meta-analysis will identify the patient, illness and protocol parameters that determine clinical outcomes, as guide to optimizing the role of rTMS in the care of patients with OCD.

Analyse neuropsychological assessment data collected from a chromatin disorder clinic to determine the neuropsychological profile associated with chromatin disorders. Assess for differences in neuropsychological profile by diagnostic group and gender. Hypothesis: A systematic neuropsychological review of chromatin disorders will reveal previously unknown patterns.

Chromatin disorders (CD) are a group of genetic conditions that result in developmental delay and intellectual disability. Thus far the neuropsychological profile of CDs has been poorly studied.

Cognitive functioning, adaptive behaviour, psychosocial difficulties and perceived impact on the family were systematically assessed in a cohort of 42 patients with CDs from November 2016 to February 2019. Cognitive functioning was assessed via Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ), adaptive behaviour was assessed via Vineland's Adaptive Behaviour Scores (VABS), anxiety and depression was assessed via the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) and communication skills were assessed via the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2). Family Impact Scale was used to assess for the perceived impact on the family. Mean scores for each neuropsychological domain were calculated firstly sorting patients by diagnosis, and then by gender. Unpaired t-tests were run to asses for statistically significant differences in mean scores by diagnosis and gender. Spearman's correlation was used to determine and potential correlations between FSIQ, VABS, RCADS and SRS-2 scores and Family Impact Score.

Patients with CDs were found generally to have mild intellectual disability (mean FSIQ = 64.57) and markedly deficient adaptive behaviour functioning (mean VABS = 50.19). Patients had a mean SRS-2 score of 70, indicative of high rates of autism spectrum disorder associated symptoms. RCADS and SRS-2 scores were negatively correlated with Family Impact Score with statistical significance (–0.562 and –0.429 Correlation coefficient for RCADS and SRS-2 respectively). Females had statistically significant average higher RCADS scores than males. CHARGE Syndrome was frequently an outlier having a mean higher FSIQ score, lower adaptive functioning and lower psychosocial impairment; however, these differences were not statistically significant.

Adaptive behaviour functioning of patients with CDs is lower than expected for their FSIQ. Females with chromatin disorders have higher levels of anxiety and depression than males however the reasons for this are unknown. The psychosocial challenges and family's impact should be considered in the clinical management of CDs. Further research with a larger data set is needed to identify the neuropsychological profiles of different CDs and to confirm whether the observed differences in CHARGE Syndrome are significant.

To determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression amongst participants with severe or complex obesity randomised and selected for bariatric surgery in a large multi-centre trial.

To describe the change in prevalence of anxiety and depression amongst participants who had undergone bariatric surgery, within 6 months of randomisation and at 12 months post-randomisation.

The By-Band-Sleeve (BBS) study is a multi-site randomised controlled trial evaluating the surgical management of severe or complex obesity and is the largest trial of its kind. Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) on study enrolment (pre-randomisation) and at 12 months post-randomisation. In this sub-study, we describe provisional data concerning the baseline prevalence of anxiety and depression along with change in median HADS symptom score amongst those who actually underwent bariatric surgery.

758 participants met the criteria for study inclusion with 716 (94.46%) and 712 (93.93%) individuals fully completing questionnaires for HADS-A and HADS-D. At pre-randomisation, the prevalence of possible (HADS A/D = 8-10) and probable (HADS A/D >11) anxiety or depression was 46.19% (n 330/716) and 48.17% (n 48.17%) respectively. Paired and complete HADS-A and HADS-D questionnaires were available for 70.25% (n 503/716) and 69.94% (n 498/712) participants. There was a highly statistically significant decrease in median HADS-A and HADS-D scores at 12 months post-randomisation (Wilcoxon signed-rank test p < 0.001). This was coupled with a statistically significant reduction in the proportion of cases with possible and probable anxiety (–9.54%, p < 0.001) and also depression (–22.21%, p < 0.001) at 12 months post-randomisation.

Our results characterise the high rate of psychological comorbidity amongst patients with severe or complex obesity selected for bariatric surgery. Whilst bariatric surgery remains the most clinically effective treatment for severe obesity, its effects on long-term post-operative mental health outcomes are less clear. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence calling for increased pre/post-operative mental health surveillance and integrated care for this cohort of patients.

To assess the clinical presentation and outcomes of COVID-19 positive patients with dementia and to evaluate the suitability of the “4C mortality score.” Older adults with dementia are a vulnerable patient group therefore it was predicted that this patient demographic would have poorer outcomes and high mortality rates. Ward 24 is an organic old age psychiatry ward in University Hospital Monklands, Lanarkshire for patients with advanced dementia. Older adults have been found to have atypical presentations and non-specific symptoms in COVID-19, however given COVID is still a new and evolving disease, little is known about the impact on dementia patients. The 4C mortality score was designed to predict in-hospital mortality for hospitalised COVID-19 patients using a number of clinical parameters.

Data were collected retrospectively from all inpatients on ward 24 testing positive for COVID-19 between October and December 2020. Data were collected using online MIDIS entries, paper notes, NEWS charts and Clinical Portal. A 4C mortality score was calculated for each patient using an online calculator based on the data collected.

15 patients tested positive for COVID-19; 47% male and 53% female, age range between 64 and 92 years old. 67% of patients had 3 or more comorbidities and 89% had either a high or very high 4C mortality score. Mortality from COVID-19 was 13% and 20% of patients required oxygen. 27% of patients were asymptomatic, these patients also had the lower risk mortality scores. 67% presented with pyrexia, 33% had a cough and 13% had breathlessness. Non-specific symptoms were also seen; 53% had fatigue, 20% had diarrhoea and 20% had unresponsive episodes. Post COVID delirium was seen in 20% of patients.

Mortality rates were lower than expected, indicating that the 4C mortality score might not be appropriate to use in this patient demographic due to confounding factors. Atypical symptoms were common in patients, with a variability of clinical presentations within the patient demographic. These findings suggest the importance of having a low threshold for COVID-19 infection even in the absence of typical symptoms. Development of an alternative risk stratification tool would be beneficial for this patient group, with further studies needed on a larger scale to facilitate this.

Emotion regulation (ER) impairments are central trans-diagnostic phenomena across the spectrum of eating disorders (EDs) and obesity, where maladaptive eating behaviors act to suppress negative emotions. Self-report assessments are the most commonly used tools for assessing an individual's ER capacity, however, subjective self-reporting is limited by a tendency toward response bias and issues with common method variance. Prior empirical and theoretical research supports the use of heart rate variability (HRV) to objectively assess individual differences in ER capacity. Several studies have examined the association between HRV and ER in EDs and obesity. However, to date, no review synthesising the overall findings exists. This review aimed to summarise the empirical evidence that has examined the relationship between ER and HRV in adults with EDs/obesity, in addition to assessing the validity of HRV as a physiological biomarker of ER in these populations.

A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed, MEDLINE and PsycINFO, with identified studies screened against a priori inclusion/exclusion criteria. Eligible studies underwent quality-assessment using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools, and data were synthesised qualitatively.

17 publications were included, consisting of data on participants with obesity, binge eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa (AN), and/or subclinical presentations. Studies were small (average sample size n = 46.4), predominantly female (87.9%), and were highly variable in methodology, with different diagnostic tools, self-report measures, and emotional tasks/paradigms used.

The evidence suggests that HRV is a valid, objective biomarker of ER impairments in AN, BN, BED, emotional eating, and obesity. Despite some inconsistencies, likely attributable to methodological heterogeneity, EDs/obesity appear to be characterised by irregular resting state vagal activity and abnormal stress reactivity. Furthermore, the autonomic dysfunction observed across EDs/obesity may be reversible by novel effective interventions such as HRV-biofeedback or PlayMancer videogame therapy.

To assess concordance with guidelines on monitoring vitamin D levels and prescribing prophylaxis or replacement. To assess the association between the implementation of local guidelines and prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with various adverse health outcomes including osteoporosis, fractures and myalgia. Most recently, vitamin D deficiency has been hypothesised as a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection. Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency include incarceration, ethnicity, diet and a diagnosis of psychiatric disorder. Vitamin D deficiency is known to be prevalent among individuals within forensic mental health institutions.

Local Trust guidelines advise that vitamin D levels should be checked within one-month of hospital admission, followed by checks at three-monthly intervals. Recommendations for prescribing depend on patients’ vitamin D levels; deficient (<25nmol/L), insufficient (25 < 50nmol/L) or adequate (50-150nmol/L). We assessed concordance with these guidelines at Broadmoor Hospital, UK.

Medical records, laboratory results and drug charts were assessed for a total of 75 patients across 15 wards. Data were collected using a standardised audit tool, including; date of admission, admission vitamin D level, most recent vitamin D level and the dose and frequency of vitamin D prescribed.

76.4% of patients had their vitamin D levels checked within one month of admission. 66.7% of patients had their vitamin D checked within the last 3 months. For patients with an admission vitamin D level recorded, 43.6% had deficient vitamin D levels, 43.6% had insufficient levels and 12.7% had adequate levels. For patients with a more recent serum vitamin D level, 14.5% had deficient levels, 38.7% had insufficient levels and 46.8% had adequate levels. For patients with a documented serum vitamin D level, 21.4% were prescribed the correct dose, 22.9% were under-dosed, 14.3% were over-dosed and 41.4% received no dose where guidelines suggested they should.

Comparison of admission and most recent vitamin D levels suggests a general improvement in prevalence of vitamin D deficiency associated with the implementation of local guidelines. However, we identify significant areas for improvement. A substantial proportion of patients lacked admission or regular monitoring of vitamin D levels and a substantial proportion of patients were under-dosed or received no dose where guidelines suggested they should have. We propose that better concordance with guidelines may improve clinical outcomes further. This may prove especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, given a potential association between vitamin D deficiency and severity of respiratory infection.