Clinical Features of Schizophrenia 2

Question 1

Define hallucinations

Answer 1

Perceptions in the absence of an external sensory stimulus

Question 2

Describe the frequency of auditory hallucinations and some common hallucinations

Answer 2

40-80% of all hallucinations; frequently voices (3rd person discussion of individual, running commentary, thought echo, commands), but also music, body noises, or machinery

Question 3

Describe the frequency of visual hallucinations and some common hallucinations

Answer 3

15% of all hallucinations; usually unformed, e.g. glowing orbs or flashes of colour, but occasionally complex

Question 4

Describe the frequency of tactile hallucinations and some common hallucinations

Answer 4

5% of all hallucinations; feelings of being touched, sexual intercourse, or pain

Question 5

Define delusions

Answer 5

Symbolic misinterpretations accompanied by a string sense of conviction and fixity but a lack of rational grounds

Question 6

Define delusional mood

Answer 6

A strange, uncanny mood in which the environment appear to be changed in a threatening way that is not understood

Question 7

Name 4 common delusional themes

Answer 7

Gradniose, paranoid, nihilistic, erotomanic

Question 8

Describe nihilistic delusion

Answer 8

The uncommon, bizarre belief that one is dead or does not exist

Question 9

Describe erotomanic delusion

Answer 9

The erroneous belief that one has a special relationship with someone

Question 10

State some common presentations of thought disorder

Answer 10

Tangentiality, circumstantiality (answers to questions delayed by irrelevant details and remarks), derailment (switching topic illogically), neologisms, word salad (words thrown together without sensible meaning)

Question 11

What is the most overt motor symptom of schizophrenia?

Answer 11

Stupor - akinetic mutism with relative preservation of consciousness

Question 12

Describe the domains affected by neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia

Answer 12

Global intellectual decline, verbal and working memory, executive function, sustained and selective attention

Question 13

What percentage of schizophrenia patients have significant cognitive impairment?

Answer 13

75%

Question 14

Describe the effect of insight on schizophrenia

Answer 14

Good insight correlates with medication adherence and fewer hospital admissions but also increased depression and suicidal ideation. Poor insight correlates with poor medication compliance, poor treatment outcome, and a lack of awareness of the social consequences of schizophrenia

Question 15

Define insight as applied to schizophrenia

Answer 15

Acknowledging the mental illness, appropriately attributing symptoms to the disease, accepting a need for treatment, and being aware of the consequences

Question 16

State the prognosis of schizophrenia

Answer 16

1 in 8 individuals who experiences a psychotic episode never experiences recurrence over 10 years of follow-up (Lappin et al, 2018), however just 30-50% of schizophrenia patients reach a satisfactory outcome from both a clinical and psychosocial point of view