Major Deficits Research Articles

Wide Dissection Trans-Sulcal Approach for Resection of Deep Intra-Axial Lesions in Eloquent Brain Areas.

Introduction: Resection of intra-axial tumors (IaT) in eloquent brain regions risks major postoperative neurological deficits. Awake craniotomy is often used to navigate these areas; however, some patients are ineligible for awake procedures. The trans-sulcal approach (TScal) was introduced to reduce parenchymal trauma during tumor resection. We report our experiences utilizing TScal for resection of deep IaT located in eloquent areas. Materials and Methods: This is a single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent IaT resection in eloquent areas via TScal from January 2013 to April 2021. Seventeen cases were reviewed, and relevant data was collected. Fluorescence-guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and intraoperative ultrasound was performed in some cases. Results: Seventeen patients (10 males, 7 females) averaging 61.2 years-old (range, 21–76) were included in this study. Average length of stay was 4.8 days, and only 2 patients (11.8%) required hospital readmission within 30 days. Gross total resection (GTR) was achieved in 15 patients (88.2%), while subtotal resection occurred in 2 patients (11.8%). Eleven patients (64.7%) reported full resolution of symptoms, 4 patients (23.5%) reported deficit improvement, and 2 patients (11.8%) experienced no change from their preoperative deficits. No patient developed new permanent deficits postoperatively. Discussion: GTR, preoperative deficit reduction, and complications were comparable to awake craniotomy and other TScal studies. Ancillary intraoperative techniques, such as brain mapping, 5-ALA and intraoperative ultrasound, are afforded by TScal to improve resection rates and overall outcomes. Conclusions: TScal can be an option for patients with deep lesions in eloquent areas who are not candidates for awake surgeries.

Reprint of: Development and Evaluation of a Global Malnutrition Composite Score.

Reprint of: Development and Evaluation of a Global Malnutrition Composite Score.

Influence of Project Planning on Economic Development Projects in Kajiado West Sub County, Kenya

Lack of or poor public participation in politics, policy discussions, and the ability to demand accountability of the government is a major deficit of democracy in Kenya. The general objective of the study was to analyse the influence of community participation on economic development projects in the Kajiado West sub-county, Kenya. The variables of interest were to examine the influence of community participation in project planning, project implementation, project monitoring and evaluation, and project coordination on economic development projects. The research methodology was mixed triangulation research which involved the use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection, analysis, and data interpretation. The study adopted a descriptive research design to allow the collection of comprehensive data. The target population was 1500 participants out of the entire population of the Kajiado West sub-county, which was approximately 104,376 people as per the 2009 population census. The sample size was 150 respondents from five wards. The collection of data was carried out using questionnaires and interview schedules. Questionnaires were circulated to traders, village elders, religious leaders, and farmers, while structured interviews were conducted with MCAs, chiefs, and assistant chiefs. The qualitative data was analysed using content analysis, while the quantitative data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics entailed mean, standard deviation, and frequencies, while the inferential statistics entailed the person correlation and regression analysis. The study found that community participation in project planning, project implementation, project monitoring and evaluation, and project coordination on economic development projects were positively and significantly associated.

Model-driven development of interoperable communication interfaces for FAIR sensor services

To gain long-term knowledge on product and process quality the sustainable collection, processing and storage of sensor data is an essential requirement. Whereas the application of the FAIR principles as a guideline to provide all collected data with rich metadata that allow for finding, accessing, interoperating with and reusing the data effectively is constantly growing within science and research, the usage in an industrial scenario is largely unexplored. Today, collected industrial data is often stored in arbitrary data formats without appropriate metadata describing the data content and is therefore lost for future reuse because crucial information on how to find, access and interoperate with the data is missing. Moreover, insufficiently described or missing data can lead to wrong decisions. In order to implement the FAIR principles for industrial sensor data, this article derives the major deficits and challenges of making industrial sensor data FAIR. Furthermore, the authors propose a three-layer architecture of FAIR sensor services, which handles the discussed challenges, to acquire FAIR sensor data at the time of measurement. The conceptual draft is evaluated by a prototypical implementation of a FAIR sensor service.

Perioperative stroke during carotid endarterectomy: benefits of multimodal neuromonitoring - a case report

BackgroundCarotid endarterectomy is routinely performed after ischemic stroke due to carotid stenosis. Perioperative, cerebral blood flow and oxygenation can be monitored in different ways, but there is no clear evidence of a gold standard and a uniform guideline is lacking. Electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy are among the most frequently used methods of neuromonitoring. Clinicians should be aware of their pitfalls and the added value of transcranial doppler.Case presentationWe present the case of an 85-year old male with perioperative haemodynamic stroke during carotid endarterectomy. Ischemic stroke was caused by suddenly increased carotid stenosis resulting in major neurologic deficit. This was registered only by transcranial doppler, while surface electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy failed to detect any significant change in cerebral perfusion, despite a large perfusion defect on computed tomography. Circulation was restored with endovascular treatment and neurologic deficit quickly resolved.ConclusionWe strongly advocate the practice of multimodal neuromonitoring including transcranial doppler whenever possible to minimize the risk of persistent neurologic deficit due to perioperative stroke during carotid endarterectomy.

Remotely controlled near-infrared-triggered photothermal treatment of brain tumours in freely behaving mice using gold nanostars.

Current clinical brain tumour therapy practices are based on tumour resection and post-operative chemotherapy or X-ray radiation. Resection requires technically challenging open-skull surgeries that can lead to major neurological deficits and, in some cases, death. Treatments with X-ray and chemotherapy, on the other hand, cause major side-effects such as damage to surrounding normal brain tissues and other organs. Here we report the development of an integrated nanomedicine-bioelectronics brain-machine interface that enables continuous and on-demand treatment of brain tumours, without open-skull surgery and toxicological side-effects on other organs. Near-infrared surface plasmon characteristics of our gold nanostars enabled the precise treatment of deep brain tumours in freely behaving mice. Moreover, the nanostars' surface coating enabled their selective diffusion in tumour tissues after intratumoral administration, leading to the exclusive heating of tumours for treatment. This versatile remotely controlled and wireless method allows the adjustment of nanoparticles' photothermal strength, as well as power and wavelength of the therapeutic light, to target tumours in different anatomical locations within the brain.

Service Compact with All Nigerians (Servicom) and Service Delivery in the Nigerian Public Service: An Appraisal

Over the years, poor service delivery has been identified as one major deficit noted with the Nigerian public service. This has elicited much of intellectual debates and scholarly interventions which have been devoted to underscore the negative perception of poor service delivery in the Nigerian public service. Efforts to change the service delivery orientation of the Nigerian public sector through introducing a new service delivery philosophy have also received some attentions. The SERVICOM Charter, as introduced in March, 2004 becomes the binding document that mandates all government institutions on effective and efficient delivery of services to the Nigerian public. This paper adopted a literature- based approach to underpin the context while, interrogating the need for improved service delivery in the Nigerian public service. Findings from this study argued that, the SERVICOM Charter is challenged by its operational environment as a working document for the reorientation of the Nigerian public service and the citizenry towards effective and efficient service delivery. The paper concluded that, for SERVICOM Charter to achieve the objectives of the changing narratives of poor service delivery in the Nigerian public service, measures are also required for the appropriate compliance of its laudable objectives in the Nigerian public service at large.

Geographic Accessibility and Availability of Radiotherapy in Ghana

Radiotherapy is critical for comprehensive cancer care, but there are large gaps in access. Within Ghana, data on radiotherapy availability and on the relationship between distance and access are unknown. To estimate the gaps in radiotherapy machine availability in Ghana and to describe the association between distance and access to care. This is a cross-sectional, population-based study of radiotherapy delivery in Ghana in 2020 and model-based analysis of radiotherapy demand and the radiotherapy utilization rate (RUR) using the Global Task Force on Radiotherapy for Cancer Control investment framework. Receipt of radiotherapy and the number of radiotherapy courses delivered. Geocoded location of patients receiving external beam radiotherapy (EBRT); median Euclidean distance from the district centroids to the nearest radiotherapy centers; proportion of population living within geographic buffer zones of 100, 150, and 200 km; additional capacity required for optimal utilization; and geographic accessibility after strategic location of a radiotherapy facility in an underserviced region. A total of 2883 patients underwent EBRT courses in 2020, with an actual RUR of 11%. Based on an optimal RUR of 48%, 11 524 patients had an indication for radiotherapy, indicating that only 23% of patients received treatment. An investment of 23 additional EBRT machines would be required to meet demand. The median Euclidean distance from the district centroids to the nearest radiotherapy facility was 110.6 km (range, 0.62-513.2 km). The proportion of the total population living within a radius of 100, 150 and 200 km of a radiotherapy facility was 47%, 61% and 70%, respectively. A new radiotherapy facility in the northern regional capital would reduce the median of Euclidean distance by 10% to 99.4 km (range, 0.62-267.7 km) and increase proportion of the total population living within a radius of 100, 150 and 200 km to 53%, 69% and 84%, respectively. The greatest benefit was seen in regions in the northern half of Ghana. In this cross-sectional study of geographic accessibility and availability of radiotherapy, Ghana had major national deficits of radiotherapy capacity, with significant geographic disparities among regions. Well-planned infrastructure scale-up that accounts for the population distribution could improve radiotherapy accessibility.

Threat reversal learning and avoidance habits in generalised anxiety disorder

Avoidance and heightened responses to perceived threats are key features of anxiety disorders. These disorders are characterised by inflexibility in dynamically updating behavioural and physiological responses to aversively conditioned cues or environmental contexts which are no longer objectively threatening, often manifesting in perseverative avoidance. However, less is known about how anxiety disorders might differ in adjusting to threat and safety shifts in the environment or how idiosyncratic avoidance responses are learned and persist. Twenty-eight patients with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), without DSM co-morbidities, and 27 matched healthy controls were administered two previously established paradigms: Pavlovian threat reversal and shock avoidance habits through overtraining (assessed following devaluation with measures of perseverative responding). For both tasks we used subjective report scales and skin conductance responses (SCR). In the Pavlovian threat reversal task, patients with GAD showed a significantly overall higher SCR as well as a reduced differential SCR response compared to controls in the early but not late reversal phase. During the test of habitual avoidance responding, GAD patients did not differ from controls in task performance, habitual active avoidance responses during devaluation, or corresponding SCR during trials, but showed a trend toward more abstract confirmatory subjective justifications for continued avoidance following the task. GAD patients exhibited significantly greater skin conductance responses to signals of threat than controls, but did not exhibit the major deficits in reversal and safety signal learning shown previously by patients with OCD. Moreover, this patient group, again unlike OCD patients, did not show evidence of altered active avoidance learning or enhanced instrumental avoidance habits. Overall, these findings indicate no deficits in instrumental active avoidance or persistent avoidance habits, despite enhanced responses to Pavlovian threat cues in GAD. They suggest that GAD is characterised by passive, and not excessively rigid, avoidance styles.

Sphenoid wing meningiomas: peritumoral brain edema as a prognostic factor in surgical outcome.

Sphenoidal meningiomas constitute 18% of intracranial masses, and still present a difficult surgical challenge. PTBE has been associated with several complications and future recurrence. This study aims to evaluate the outcome of the operatively treated sphenoid wing meningiomas in relation to PTBE as a prognostic factor in a series of 65 patients. The clinical materials of 65 patients with SWM treated microsurgically between 2007 and 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Follow-up ranged from 6 to 156months (median, 86). Clinical outcomes include postoperative major neurological deficit, quality of life using KPS, recurrence, and mortality rates. The mean age of patients was 53.9years (range 20-74), males 24.6% and females75.4%. An edema index (EI) of 1 (40%) was considered as absent edema, and EI > 1 (60%) indicated present edema. Total resection (Simpson I-II) was achieved in 64.6% and subtotal (Simpson IV) in 13.8%. Postoperative complications included vision impairment in 3 patients, motor weakness 6, third nerve palsy 6, intraoperative bleeding and edema 5, and MCA infarct 2, recurrence in 17% and 7.7% died. In univariate analysis, we found that the PTBE is one of the serious risk factors in the immediate surgical outcomes and complication, though more data is needed to support this claim, while having a negative effect on postoperative KPS at short-term follow up (χ2 = 6.44, p = 0.011). PTBE was associated with decline in KPS and quality of life in the early postoperative period (three months) while showing no significant effect at long-term outcomes.

Patient Comfort in Modern Computed Tomography: What Really Counts.

Background: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the patient comfort during CT examinations with a modern CT scanner (Photon-Counting CT (PCCT)) and to compare the perceived patient comfort with a standard CT scanner. Methods: A total of 157 patients participated in this study and completed a questionnaire on their subjective perceptions after their CT examination. The following aspects of comfort were rated on a 5-point Likert scale: (1) claustrophobia in general and during the examination, (2) the effort to lie down and to get up from the CT table, (3) the speed and comfort of the CT table, (4) the difficulty of holding the breath during the CT scan, and (5) the communication during the examination. Results: Patients rated the modern CT scanner significantly better in terms of speed and comfort of the CT table and in terms of difficulty of holding their breath during the CT scan. The answers regarding the other aspects of comfort did not reveal significant differences. When asked for a comparison, patients who did perceive a difference between both scanners rated the modern CT scanner as more comfortable in all aspects of comfort. Conclusions: The survey did not reveal any major deficits in terms of comfort on the standard CT scanner. However, patients perceived the structural changes positively and appreciated the comfort of a modern CT scanner.

Animal-to-Human Translation Difficulties and Problems With Proposed Coding-in-Noise Deficits in Noise-Induced Synaptopathy and Hidden Hearing Loss.

Noise induced synaptopathy (NIS) and hidden hearing loss (NIHHL) have been hot topic in hearing research since a massive synaptic loss was identified in CBA mice after a brief noise exposure that did not cause permanent threshold shift (PTS) in 2009. Based upon the amount of synaptic loss and the bias of it to synapses with a group of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) with low spontaneous rate (LSR), coding-in-noise deficit (CIND) has been speculated as the major difficult of hearing in subjects with NIS and NIHHL. This speculation is based upon the idea that the coding of sound at high level against background noise relies mainly on the LSR ANFs. However, the translation from animal data to humans for NIS remains to be justified due to the difference in noise exposure between laboratory animals and human subjects in real life, the lack of morphological data and reliable functional methods to quantify or estimate the loss of the afferent synapses by noise. Moreover, there is no clear, robust data revealing the CIND even in animals with the synaptic loss but no PTS. In humans, both positive and negative reports are available. The difficulty in verifying CINDs has led a re-examination of the hypothesis that CIND is the major deficit associated with NIS and NIHHL, and the theoretical basis of this idea on the role of LSR ANFs. This review summarized the current status of research in NIS and NIHHL, with focus on the translational difficulty from animal data to human clinicals, the technical difficulties in quantifying NIS in humans, and the problems with the SR theory on signal coding. Temporal fluctuation profile model was discussed as a potential alternative for signal coding at high sound level against background noise, in association with the mechanisms of efferent control on the cochlea gain.

The Course of General Cognitive Ability in Individuals With Psychotic Disorders

Schizophrenia is associated with major cognitive deficits and has been conceptualized as both a neurodevelopmental and a neurodegenerative disorder. However, when deficits develop and how they change over the course of illness is uncertain. To trace cognition from elementary school to old age to test neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative theories of psychotic disorders. Data were taken from the Suffolk County Mental Health Project, a first-admission longitudinal cohort study of individuals with psychotic disorders. Participants were recruited from all 12 inpatient psychiatric facilities in Suffolk County, New York. This analysis concerns the 428 participants with at least 2 estimates of general cognitive ability. Data were collected between September 1989 and October 2019, and data were analyzed from January 2020 to October 2021. Psychiatric hospitalization for psychosis. Preadmission cognitive scores were extracted from school and medical records. Postonset cognitive scores were based on neuropsychological testing at 6-month, 24-month, 20-year, and 25-year follow-ups. Of the 428 included individuals (212 with schizophrenia and 216 with other psychotic disorders), 254 (59.6%) were male, and the mean (SD) age at psychosis onset was 27 (9) years. Three phases of cognitive change were observed: normative, declining, and deteriorating. In the first phase, cognition was stable. Fourteen years before psychosis onset, those with schizophrenia began to experience cognitive decline at a rate of 0.35 intelligence quotient (IQ) points per year (95% CI, 0.29-0.42; P < .001), a significantly faster decline than those with other psychotic disorders (0.15 IQ points per year; 95% CI, 0.08-0.22, P < .001). At 22 years after onset, both groups declined at a rate of 0.59 IQ points per year (95% CI, 0.25-0.94; P < .001). In this cohort study, cognitive trajectories in schizophrenia were consistent with both a neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative pattern, resulting in a loss of 16 IQ points over the period of observation. Cognitive decline began long prior to psychosis onset, suggesting the window for primary prevention is earlier than previously thought. A window for secondary prevention emerges in the third decade of illness, when cognitive declines accelerate in individuals with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Significance of Vertigo, Imbalance, and Other Minor Symptoms in Hyperacute Treatment of Posterior Circulation Stroke.

BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the clinical significance of acute vestibular syndrome (AVS)/acute imbalance syndrome (AIS) in posterior circulation stroke (PCS) and how it should be addressed in the thrombolysis code.MethodsOur institution has recently changed its thrombolysis code from one that is generous to AVS/AIS to one that is exclusive. The subjects in this study were patients with PCS who presented before this transition (May 2016 to April 2018, period 1) and those who presented after (January 2019 to December 2020, period 2) with an onset-to-door time of 4.5 h. Hyperacute stroke treatment was compared between the two periods. The clinical significance of AVS/AIS was evaluated by dichotomizing the patients' clinical severity to minor or major deficits, then evaluating the significance of AVS/AIS in each group. Presenting symptoms of decreased mental alertness, hemiparesis, aphasia (anarthria), or hemianopsia were considered major PCS symptoms, and patients who did not present with these symptoms were considered minor PCS.ResultsIn total, 114 patients presented in period 1 and 114 in period 2. Although the code activation rate was significantly lower in period 2 (72.8% vs. 59.7%), p = 0.04, there were no between-group differences in functional outcomes (mRS score at 3 months; 1 [0–3] vs. 0 [0–3], p = 0.18). In 77 patients with PCS and AVS/AIS, the difference in code activation rate was not significant according to changes in thrombolysis code. In minor PCS, AVS/AIS was associated with lower NIHSS scores, lower early neurological deterioration rates, and favorable outcomes. In major PCS, while AVS/AIS was not associated with outcomes, the majority of cases were prodromal AVS/AIS which simple vertigo and imbalance symptoms were followed by a major PCS symptom.ConclusionsThis study failed to show differences in outcome in patients with PCS according to how AVS/AIS is addressed in the stroke thrombolysis code. In patients with minor PCS, AVS/AIS was associated with a benign clinical course. Prompt identification of prodromal AVS/AIS is essential.

Analysis of national scientific domains in the journalism discipline (scopus, 2003–2019)

Although journalism has an important social impact, with contributions from multiple academic and professional fields, one can perceive a major deficit in terms of applying scientometric analyses that allow for an objective multidimensional radiography of scientific production, the identification of transnational collaboration networks and the revelation of the position of the different countries. This work evaluated the evolution of national scientific domains of the discipline during the period 2003–2009, constructing a first relationships map that goes beyond the quantitative plane of production to reveal the dynamics and socio-political and geographical context of alliances in Journalism research. Scientific production in journalism increased during this period much faster than world scientific production. Three countries really capitalized the research: the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain generated more than half of the total production, while at the same time being those that determined the entire structure of relationships involving the linguistic, geopolitical and sociocultural (linked with professional and work practices) factors.

Study puts influenza to the test, suggesting major practice deficits

A new analysis, published February 2022 in Chest by Deshpande and colleagues, looked at the relationship between how often patients were tested for influenza and their clinical outcomes. The analysis, based on a robust multihospital cohort, focused specifically on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients, underscoring several key findings between flu testing tendencies and their effects on a patients’ mortality and morbidity. The study supports the hypothesis that routine flu testing in CAP patients increases the likelihood of optimal treatment and reduced mortality.

Identifying maternal humoral immune responses associated with control of viremia after primary maternal CMV infection in a rhesus macaque model

Abstract Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common in utero infection and causes major neurodevelopmental deficits, but there remains no licensed vaccine to prevent cCMV. Little is known about maternal immune responses that can prevent placental CMV transmission, which could guide rational design of an effective vaccine. Using the rhesus macaque (RM) model of primary RM CMV (RhCMV) infection during pregnancy, we established that pre-existing RhCMV-neutralizing IgG protected against cCMV, even in the setting of CD4+ T cell depletion, where vertical transmission occurs consistently in RhCMV-seronegative RMs. However, the antibody (Ab) functions mediating this protection have not been fully defined. To identify humoral immune correlates of containment of viremia and protection against cCMV we used samples from previous studies in this model to measure Ab binding to whole RhCMV virus and key glycoproteins, neutralization, Ab dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), and cytotoxicity (ADCC). Immunocompetent RMs developed both RhCMV-specific neutralizing and Fc-mediated effector functions (ADCP, ADCC) 2–4 weeks post infection. However, Ab responses were not statistically distinct between transmitters and non-transmitters during this period. Maternal viremia outperformed maternal Ab responses as a predictor of placental transmission. Therefore, we correlated each Ab response with maternal plasma viral load at day 21 post infection. Interestingly, IgG binding to gB and the pentamer, immunodominant viral glycoproteins involved in viral entry, displayed significant inverse relationships with maternal viremia (n=15, Spearman r=−0.71, p=0.003 for both), highlighting these as critical targets for vaccine design. Supported by grants from NIH (NIAID P01-AI129859, NCI T32-CA009111)

Water sanitation in Karachi and its impact on health

Karachi is the largest city and premiere industrial and financial center of Pakistan yet is subjected to major infrastructure deficits. Of primary concern is poor water sanitation which has predisposed a weak healthcare system and its citizens to increased infectious diseases. In Karachi, causes of this include a mismanaged sewage system, poor urban planning, and overcrowding. Several reasons such as lack of funding, corruption, and mismanagement have exacerbated circumstances placing extra strain on Karachi's already scarce water supply. In addition, lack of maintenance and regulation of the existing system has led to increased contaminated water delivery to citizens. Consequently, outbreaks of various water borne diseases such as typhoid, helicobacter pylori, malaria, diarrhea etc have severely impacted healthcare of citizens, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation is worsened by Karachi's rapidly growing population and lack of awareness among citizens regarding safe drinking water. Prior socioeconomic disparities, and illiteracy complicate access to medications and appropriate healthcare services. However, despite weak efforts from the government, several national and international organizations continue to strive to improve access to clean, drinkable water.

Autism spectrum disorder on the basis of executive functioning profile

Introduction: Executive Functioning (EF) has been studied separately in both normal and Autistic children but there are no specific studies on the comparative analysis of strength and weaknesses of executive functioning among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and normal children.&#x0D; Objective: To evaluate and compare the strength and weakness of executive functioning (EF) among children with autism spectrum disorder and normal children.&#x0D; Materials &amp; Methods: A comparative cross-sectional survey was conducted through purposive sampling from July 2018 to February 2019 involving parents of normal school going children and diagnosed Autistic children. Children aged 3 to 8 years old with ASD (n=96) and normally developed children (n=96) were compared on a battery of Executive Functioning (EF) tasks in both groups. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 for descriptive statistics; comparisons were done by Independent Samples T Test, keeping p≤0.05 as significant.&#x0D; Results: There was a male preponderance among the autistic children (67 versus 45 males in normal children). The most represented ages were 4-4.11 years and 7-8 years. Tests of Executive Function showed significant decline in all the abilities (p&lt;0.05), except in Time Management (p=0.21).&#x0D; Conclusion: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder show major deficits in Executive Functioning when compared to normal children.

Cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation amongst adolescent psychiatric patients at Lentegeur Hospital, South Africa.

BackgroundCyberbullying is a type of harassment that is perpetrated or experienced by a person or groups of persons via the use of electronic devices, and it frequently occurs amongst young people. Research has shown that cyberbullying is associated with psychiatric comorbidity, which could indicate a need for screening adolescents who present for mental health services.AimThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying amongst adolescents. The secondary aim was to determine the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 psychiatric diagnoses associated with cyberbullying.SettingLentegeur Hospital Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in the Western Cape, South Africa.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 97 participants (sampled from both inpatient and outpatient services) between the ages of 13 years and 18 years. Adolescent assent and parental consent were obtained. Demographic and clinical data were collected from patient folders, and the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory II was used to assess cyberbullying behaviours.ResultsThe overall prevalence rate of some form of cyberbullying in this sample was 56.7%, of which 6.2% were cyberbullies, 20.6% were cyber-victims and 29.9% were cyberbullies and cyber-victims. Female participants were more likely to be involved in cyberbullying than males. The most prevalent primary psychiatric diagnoses in adolescents involved in cyberbullying included major depressive disorder (72.4%), schizophrenia (57.1%) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (22%). There was no significant association between cyberbullying and any psychiatric diagnoses.ConclusionThe high prevalence rate of adolescents involved in cyberbullying suggests that this behaviour is a cause for concern in the South African population. More screening and treatment programmes should be implemented to address this issue.