The number of trials aimed at evaluating treatments for autism spectrum disorder has been increasing progressively. However, it is not clear which outcome measures should be used to assess their efficacy, especially for treatments which target core symptoms. The present review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview regarding the outcome measures used in clinical trials for people with autism spectrum disorder. We systematically searched the Web of KnowledgeSM database between 1980 and 2016 to identify published controlled trials investigating the efficacy of interventions in autism spectrum disorder. We included 406 trials in the final database, from which a total of 327 outcome measures were identified. Only seven scales were used in more than 5% of the studies, among which only three measured core symptoms (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and Social Responsiveness Scale). Of note, 69% of the tools were used in the literature only once. Our systematic review has shown that the evaluation of efficacy in intervention trials for autism spectrum disorder relies on heterogeneous and often non-specific tools for this condition. The fragmentation of tools may significantly hamper the comparisons between studies and thus the discovery of effective treatments for autism spectrum disorder. Greater consensus regarding the choice of these measures should be reached.

The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of subjects accessing the emergency rooms for suicidal behavior during the first epidemic wave of COVID-19 in three Emergency Departments (EDs) in Lombardy (Italy). A retrospective chart review was conducted for the period 8 March–3 June 2020, and during the same time frame in 2019. For all subjects accessing for suicidality, socio-demographic and clinical data were collected and compared between the two years. The proportion of subjects accessing for suicidality was significantly higher in 2020 than in 2019 (13.0 vs. 17.2%, p = 0.03). No differences between the two years were found for sex, triage priority level, history of substance abuse, factor triggering suicidality and discharge diagnosis. During 2020 a greater proportion of subjects did not show any mental disorders and were psychotropic drug-free. Women were more likely than men to receive inpatient psychiatric treatment, while men were more likely to be discharged with a diagnosis of acute alcohol/drug intoxication. Our study provides hints for managing suicidal behaviors during the still ongoing emergency and may be primary ground for further studies on suicidality in the course of or after massive infectious outbreaks.

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IntroductionPsychiatric population is characterized by a higher prevalence of cardiovascular events compared to general population. This difference might be due, in part, to the metabolic adverse effects of psychotropic agents, and, in part, to common risk factors such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet. Another potential risk factor is represented by the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS).ObjectivesWe aimed to evaluate the prevalence of MetS and to identify the baseline predictors for the longitudinal development of MetS in a sample of Italian psychiatric inpatients.MethodsMedical records of 343 patients admitted to our psychiatric ward between 2007 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsPrevalence of MetS was 21.5%. MetS appeared directly associated with age and number of medication assumed. ROC curves showed HDL as the best predictor of metabolic syndrome in our sample.ConclusionsOur results confirm previous data on the association between metabolic syndrome and exposure to complex polytherapy. Additionally, our findings support the notion of psychiatric patients as an at-risk group for metabolic abnormalities, which should be carefully monitored.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.