Bipolar Disorder - General Flashcards
What do patients with bipolar disorder suffer from?
Bouts of both depression and mania
Can mania occur without depressive swings?
Yes, though it is far more commonly associated with them (even if sometimes it takes several years for the first depressive episode to occur)
Briefly describe the 4 main differences between hypomania and mania?
Hypomania is shorter lived than mania, involves no psychotic symptoms, has little functional impairment or need for hospitalisation
How can hypomania be differentiated from normal happiness?
Persistence, non-reactivity and social disability
How long should a person’s mood be elevated or irritable to a degree that is definitely abnormal for the individual to be diagnosed with hypomania?
4 consecutive days
How long should a person’s mood be elevated or irritable to a degree that is definitely abnormal for the individual to be diagnosed with mania?
1 week (unless severe enough to require hospitalisation)
How many of the 9 signs of mania must be present for a diagnosis?
3 if the mood is elevated, 4 if the mood is irritable
What 4 signs of mania are different to those seen in hypomania?
Flight of ideas or racing thoughts, loss of normal social inhibitions resulting in inappropriate behaviour, increased self-esteem/grandiosity, reckless behaviour where the individual does not recognise the risks
What 5 signs of mania are similar to those seen in hypomania?
Increased activity, increased talkativeness (pressed speech), decreased need for sleep, distractibility (constant changes in plans) and marked sexual energy
Mania can be further divided based on the presence or absence of what?
Psychosis
What features are common in mania with psychosis?
Delusions and hallucinations (usually grandiose, self-referential, erotic or persecutory)
What are two useful tips to help differentiate mania with psychosis from schizophrenia?
Delusions are not completely impossible or culturally inappropriate, and hallucinations are not third person or giving a running commentary
What is the ICD-10 definition of bipolar disorder?
A disorder characterised by two or more episodes in which the patient’s mood and activity levels are significantly disturbed. This can be mania, hypomania or depression.
Can a single episode of mania or hypomania be diagnosed as bipolar disorder?
Yes (even if the person has never been depressed)
The first episode of mania or hypomania on a background of recurrent depression means what?
The diagnosis has been changed from depression to bipolar disorder and a change in management is needed
Describe bipolar I?
Has to have met the criteria for mania, although previous episodes may have been hypomanic/depressive. Essentially mania + depression.
Describe bipolar II?
Current or past hypomanic episode AND current or past depressive episode, never having met the criteria for a manic episode. Essentially hypomania + depression.
Which is the more common form of bipolar disorder?
Bipolar II
What is rapid cycling?
Frequent mood swings from one state to the other, usually 4 or more episodes in a year
What defines ultra-rapid cycling?
4 or more episodes in a month
What happens in a mixed affective state?
Features of mania and depression are seen within the same episode
What is cyclothymia?
A personality trait with spontaneous mood swings that are not sufficiently severe or persistent to warrant another diagnosis (they are never manic and never depressed but often cycle around milder ends of the spectrum)
Who is cyclothymia often seen in?
The families of those with bipolar disorder
What can the mood be like in mania?
Elevated or irritable
How may cognition be affected in mania?
Disturbance of registration of memories