Faculty Bibliography

Investments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research, guided by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), have focused disproportionately on etiology over a well-established stakeholder priority area: research to improve accessibility and quality of community-based services. This study analyzed National Institutes of Health ASD services research funding from 2008 to 2018 to examine funding patterns, evaluate the impact of IACC objectives, and identify future directions. Approximately 9% of total funds were allocated to services research. This investment remained relatively stable across time and lacked diversity across domains (e.g., area of focus, ages sampled, implementation strategies used). While advancements were observed, including increased prevalence of projects focused on adult samples and on dissemination/implementation and prevention areas, greater investment in service research is critically needed.

OBJECTIVE:Risk calculators (RC) to predict clinical outcomes are gaining interest. An RC to estimate risk of bipolar spectrum disorders (BPSD) could help reduce the duration of undiagnosed BPSD and improve outcomes. Our objective was to adapt an RC previously validated in the Pittsburgh Bipolar Offspring Study (BIOS) sample to achieve adequate predictive ability in both familial high-risk and clinical high-risk youths. METHOD/METHODS:Participants (aged 6-12 years at baseline) from the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms (LAMS) study (N = 473) were evaluated semi-annually. Evaluations included a Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders (K-SADS) interview. After testing an RC that closely approximated the original, we made modifications to improve model prediction. Models were trained in the BIOS data, which included biennial K-SADS assessments, and tested in LAMS. The final model was then trained in LAMS participants, including family history of BPSD as a predictor, and tested in the familial high-risk sample. RESULTS:Over follow-up, 65 youths newly met criteria for BPSD. The original RC identified youths who developed BPSD only moderately well (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.67). Eliminating predictors other than the K-SADS screening items for mania and depression improved accuracy (AUC = 0.73) and generalizability. The model trained in LAMS, including family history as a predictor, performed well in the BIOS sample (AUC = 0.74). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The clinical circumstances under which the assessment of symptoms occurs affects RC accuracy; focusing on symptoms related to the onset of BPSD improved generalizability. Validation of the RC under clinically realistic circumstances will be an important next step.

OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:Mental health agencies provide critical safety net services for youths. No research has assessed impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on services these agencies provide or youths they serve. This study sought to characterize agency officials' perceptions of the pandemic's impacts on youths and challenges to providing youth services during the pandemic and to examine associations between these challenges and impacts. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:Surveys were completed in September-October 2020 by 159 state or county mental health agency officials from 46 states. Respondents used 7-point scales (higher rating indicated more severe impact or challenge) to rate the pandemic's impact on youth mental health issues, general service challenges, and telepsychiatry service challenges across patient, provider, and financing domains. Multiple linear regression models estimated associations between service challenges (independent variables) and pandemic impacts (dependent variables). RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:Most agency officials perceived the pandemic as having disproportionately negative mental health impacts on socially disadvantaged youths (serious impact, 72%; mean rating=5.85). Only 15% (mean=4.29) perceived the pandemic as having a seriously negative impact on receipt of needed youth services. Serious service challenges were related to youths' lack of reliable equipment or Internet access for telepsychiatry services (serious challenge, 59%; mean=5.47) and the inability to provide some services remotely (serious challenge, 42%, mean=4.72). In regression models, the inability to provide some services remotely was significantly (p≤0.01) associated with three of five pandemic impacts. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Officials perceived the COVID-19 pandemic as exacerbating youth mental health disparities but as not having a dramatic impact on receipt of needed services.

OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:Strategies are needed to improve policy makers' evidence-informed decision making and the availability of evidence-based, state-supported services. This study examined whether academic-policy partnerships could promote these outcomes. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:Data from two national surveys of state mental health agency representatives were used to compare barriers to implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and policy makers' use of child mental health research in states with strong academic-policy partnerships in workforce training or in program implementation/evaluation (IE) with barriers in states with no or limited partnerships in these areas. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:Strong IE partnerships were associated with more confidence in research use and fewer issues with provider readiness and capacity but with more issues with EBP fidelity. Strong training partnerships were associated with fewer endorsements of lack of time as a barrier to research use. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Academic-policy partnerships had some benefit for states' research use and EBP implementation. Because these partnerships may reduce barriers, further research should explore characteristics of effective collaborations.

OBJECTIVES/UNASSIGNED:To address escalating youth suicide rates, universal suicide risk screening has been recommended in pediatric care settings. The emergency department (ED) is a particularly important setting for screening. However, EDs often fail to identify and treat mental health symptoms among youths, and data on implementation of suicide risk screening in EDs are limited. A systematic review was conducted to describe the current literature on universal suicide risk screening in EDs, identify important gaps in available studies, and develop recommendations for strategies to improve youth screening efforts. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:A systematic literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science was conducted. Studies focused on universal suicide risk screening of youths served in U.S. EDs that presented screening results were coded, analyzed, and evaluated for reporting quality. Eleven studies were included. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:All screening efforts occurred in teaching or children's hospitals, and research staff administered suicide screens in eight studies. Thus scant information was available on universal screening in pediatric community ED settings. Large variation was noted across studies in participation rates (17%-86%) and in positive screen rates (4.1%-50.8%), although positive screen rates were influenced by type of presenting concern (psychiatric versus nonpsychiatric). Only three studies concurrently examined barriers to screening, providing little direction for effective implementation. STROBE guidelines were used to rate reporting quality, which ranged from 51.9% to 87.1%, with three studies having ratings over 80%. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Research is needed to better inform practice guidelines and clinical pathways and to establish sustainable screening programs for youths presenting for care in EDs.

Background: ECHELON-2 (NCT01777152), a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, active-comparator, multicentre study, established the superiority of frontline brentuximab vedotin + cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (A+CHP) vs cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) for the treatment of patients (pts) with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) or other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) (Horwitz, Lancet 2019). Both risk of progression-free survival (PFS) per blinded independent central review (primary endpoint) and overall survival (OS) events favoured A+CHP over CHOP at the primary analysis. A+CHP was the first treatment regimen to increase OS compared with CHOP in this population.
Aim(s): We report the 5-year data from ECHELON-2, including PFS per investigator (INV) data and the following key secondary endpoints: OS, PFS in sALCL, complete remission (CR) rate, and objective response rate (ORR) in re-treated pts.
Method(s): Adults with untreated CD30-positive PTCL (targeting 75% +/- 5% with sALCL) were randomized 1:1 to receive 6-8 cycles of A+CHP or CHOP. Pts were stratified by histological subtype and international prognostic index (IPI) score. Brentuximab vedotin-based subsequent therapies were allowed.
Result(s): Of 452 pts enrolled, the majority had sALCL (n=316 [70%]; 218 [48%] anaplastic lymphoma kinase [ALK]-negative, and 98 pts [22%] ALK-positive) and had advanced disease (27% Stage III, 53% Stage IV; 78% IPI >=2). At data cutoff, median follow-up was 47.6 months for PFS and 66.8 months for OS. A+CHP was favoured over CHOP with a hazard ratio (HR) for PFS per INV of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.53, 0.91; p=0.0077) and OS HR of 0.72 (95% CI: 0.53, 0.99; p=0.0424). Median PFS was 62.3 months (95% CI: 42.0, not evaluable) for A+CHP, and 23.8 months (95% CI: 13.6, 60.8) for CHOP. Estimated 5-year PFS was 51.4% (95% CI: 42.8, 59.4) and 43.0% (95% CI: 35.8, 50.0) with A+CHP and CHOP, respectively. Median OS was not reached in either arm. Estimated 5-year OS was 70.1% (95% CI: 63.3, 75.9) for A+CHP vs 61.0% (95% CI: 54.0, 67.3) for CHOP. PFS in prespecified subgroups and overall PFS were generally consistent (Figure). The HR for PFS (0.55 [95% CI: 0.39, 0.79]) also favoured A+CHP over CHOP in pts with sALCL, with an estimated 5-year PFS of 60.6% (95% CI: 49.5, 69.9) for the A+CHP arm vs 48.4% (95% CI: 39.6, 56.7) for the CHOP arm. Subsequent systemic therapy with brentuximab vedotin was administered to a total of 29 pts (13%) in the A+CHP arm (sALCL [n=19]; PTCL not otherwise specified [n=5], angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma [n=5]) and 54 pts (24%) in the CHOP arm. Median time to retreatment for pts in the A+CHP arm was 15.0 months (range, 3-64); 17 pts (ORR: 59%) had CR (n=11) or partial remission (n=6) after retreatment with brentuximab vedotin monotherapy (n=25) or a brentuximab vedotin-containing regimen (n=4). Of the treatment-emergent peripheral neuropathy (PN) in the A+CHP (n=117) and CHOP arms (n=124), 72% in the A+CHP arm and 78% in the CHOP arm had resolved or improved. In pts with ongoing events at last follow-up (A+CHP [n=47] vs CHOP [n=42]) PN was grade 1, 2 and 3 in 70% vs 71%, 28% vs 26% and 2% vs 2%, respectively. Summary/Conclusion: After 5 years' follow-up, frontline A+CHP continued to provide clinically meaningful improvements in PFS and OS vs CHOP, including sustained remission in 59% of re-treated pts with sALCL, as well as a manageable safety profile, including continued resolution or improvement of PN

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Pediatric mental health emergency department (ED) visits continue to rise with 19% to 62% of youth presenting to the ED ultimately returning for a mental health-related complaint. To better understand the needs of children returning to the ED, this study examines the clinical, demographic, and environmental factors associated with revisits to a dedicated child psychiatric ED. METHODS:Clinical factors, home environment, and mental health service utilization of 885 children presenting to a dedicated child psychiatric ED over a 1-year period were abstracted by retrospective chart review. Bivariate analyses comparing demographic and clinical characteristics for children with and without revisits and a multivariable logistic regression were performed. RESULTS:Of the children presenting to the ED, 186 (21.0%) had at least 1 revisit in the subsequent 180 days. Thirty-one percent of initial visits presented as urgent, 55% presented as emergent. Children presenting with more severe symptoms at their initial visit were more likely to return within 6 months. Female gender, suicidal and disruptive behavioral symptomatology, and a diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder were associated with repeat visits. Children with mental health system involvement were more likely to have revisits than those who were "treatment naive." CONCLUSIONS:Revisits to the ED are driven by both clinical factors, including severity and psychosocial complexity, and barriers to accessing services. Addressing the problem of return ED visits will require the development of a robust mental health service system that is accessible to children and families of all socioeconomic levels.

Childhood anxiety is common, yet approximately half of youth do not receive treatment due to stigma, mistrust of the mental health service system, extensive wait lists for services and provider shortages. Alternative models and modes of treatment are needed. This paper describes the development of an alternative treatment that incorporates cognitive behavioral components for anxiety into an adaptive/therapeutic riding program delivered by certified riding instructors in a horse stable that offers horseback riding and therapeutic horsemanship programs. Using PracticeWise®, a well-established database of evidence-based mental health practices for youth, we identified five therapeutic elements that are the most commonly examined in rigorous research for childhood anxiety, and integrated them into a manualized program of adaptive riding sessions. Excellent fidelity to the intervention (98.7% mean score) and high inter-rater reliability (k = 0.92) were achieved. This approach has implications for expanding access to and engagement in adaptive/therapeutic riding interventions.

While youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are psychiatrically hospitalized at high rates, general psychiatric settings are not designed to meet their unique needs. Previous evaluations of an ASD-Care Pathway (ASD-CP) on a general psychiatric unit revealed sustained reductions in crisis interventions (intramuscular medication use, holds/restraints; Cervantes et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 49(8):3173-3180, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04029-6, 2019; Kuriakose et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 48(12):4082-4089, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3666-y, 2018). The current study investigated staff perceptions of the ASD-CP (N = 30), and examined rates of ASD-CP implementation fidelity in relation to patient outcomes (N = 28). Staff identified visual communication aids and reward strategies as most helpful. The number of days of reward identification early in the inpatient stay was associated with fewer crisis interventions later in a patient's stay.

Describe hospitalization rates in children with elevated symptoms of mania and determine predictors of psychiatric hospitalizations during the 96 month follow-up. Eligible 6-12.9 year olds and their parents visiting 9 outpatient mental health clinics were invited to be screened with the Parent General Behavior Inventory 10-item Mania Scale. Of 605 children with elevated symptoms of mania eligible for follow-up, 538 (88.9%) had ≥ 1 of 16 possible follow-up interviews and are examined herein. Multivariate Cox regression indicated only four factors predicted hospitalizations: parental mental health problems (HR 1.80; 95% CI 1.21, 2.69); hospitalization prior to study entry (HR 3.03; 95% CI 1.80, 4.43); continuous outpatient mental health service use (HR 3.73; 95% CI 2.40, 5.50); and low parental assessment of how well treatment matched child's needs (HR 3.97; 95% CI 2.50, 6.31). Parental perspectives on mental health services should be gathered routinely, as they can signal treatment failures.