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Psyhosomatic Medicine in Oncologic and Cardiac Disease Study

Conditions
Acute Myocardial Infarction
Tako Tsubo Cardiomyopathy
Breast Cancer
Interventions
Behavioral: Short Term Psychotherapy
Registration Number
NCT03437642
Lead Sponsor
San Filippo Neri General Hospital
Brief Summary

Psychological processes play a complex role in the pathophysiology of many diseases. However, the body and emotional perception of patients and the relationship between dreams and disease still need to be investigated.

The investigators planned an observational and controlled research aimed at assessing some previously unaddressed baseline psychological characteristics and their changes at 1 and 5 years after a short-term psychotherapy in carefully characterised patients with heart or oncologic diseases .

The patients that will be enrolled are:

* 50 patients ≤ 75 year old with acute myocardial infarction;

* 30 patients ≤ 75 year old with Tako-Tsubo syndrome;

* 50 women ≤ 75 year old, recently operated on breast cancer:

* 90 control subjects of the same age and gender of the enrolled patients, without relevant pathologies during the last 10 years. Relevant pathologies are defined as those that required a hospitalisation or a long-lasting medical therapy.

At the enrolment all the subjects will undergo a complete medical evaluation, and the following psychometric tests: Self-evaluation test, Social Support Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI II), MacNew Heart Disease Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI 2).

In two distinct following meetings, an open questionnaire exploring the body and emotional perception, and another exploring past and recent dreams, will be administered.

The same evaluation will be done for the healthy subjects.

After the initial evaluation, all the patients will be given the choice to start a short-term psychotherapy lasting 6 months on top of medical therapy or to continue classic medical therapy only. Healthy subjects will be not offered the possibility to follow psychotherapy.

At first year of follow-up, the battery of psychometric test, and the two questionnaires exploring the body and emotional perception, and changes and characteristics of dreams during the psychotherapy, will be re-administered.

The following data will be evaluated:

Psychological characteristics at follow-up. Incidence of new relevant medical events Quality of life Relationship between psychological characteristics and health status, and quality of life

At 5 year follow-up psychometric tests and the clinical data will be evaluated in all the groups.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
220
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients within one week from an Acute myocardial infarction treated with primary or urgent PCI
  • Patients within one week from the onset of Tako Tsubo cardiomyopathy.
  • Patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer in the preceding six months
  • Age and sex matched control subjects without relevant medical pathologies in the preceding 10 years
Exclusion Criteria
  • Cognitive impairment
  • Refusing the enrolment

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Tako-Tsubo - STPShort Term PsychotherapyShort term psychotherapy + Classic cardiological therapy
AMI - STPShort Term PsychotherapyShort term psychotherapy + Classic cardiological therapy
Oncologic - STPShort Term PsychotherapyShort term psychotherapy + Classic oncological therapy
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cumulative incidence of new relevant medical eventsat 1 year

Relevant medical events are defined as any new medical condition significantly impairing normal daily activities or requiring hospitalization or needing specific and permanent drug treatment.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Changes in body perception and dreamsat 1 year

These changes will be evaluated with dedicated qualitative questionnaires formulated with open questions.

Social supportat 5 year

Social support questionnaire (score range 12-72, the higher the score the lower the support)

Quality of lifeat 5 years

Mac New Health-related quality of life questionnaire (score range 1-7, the higher the score the higher the quality of life, 4 subscales not merged)

Anxiety gradeAt 5 years

State-Trait Anxiety inventory (score range 20-80, the higher the score the more anxiety the patients has, 2 subscales)

Incidence of rehospitalisationsat 5 years

Number of rehospitalisations during 5 years follow-up

Anger levelat 5 years

State-Trait Anger Expression inventory (score range 0%-100%, the higher the score the higher the anger, two subscales)

Cumulative incidence of new relevant medical eventsat 5 years

Relevant medical events are defined as any new medical condition significantly impairing normal daily activities or requiring hospitalization or needing specific and permanent drug treatment.

Distress gradeat 5 years

Self-evaluation test (score range 1-10, higher stress for higher values)

Depression symptomsat 5 years

Beck depression inventory II (score range 0-63, more severe depression symptoms for higher values)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

San Filippo Neri General Hospital

🇮🇹

Roma, Italy

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