Intro To Psychiatry Flashcards
Describe the characteristics of a post-stroke psychosis
Most commonly seen in right-sided middle cerebral artery lesions affecting the frontal and temporal regions
Delusion - most commonly reported psychotic symptom (mainly persecutory/jealous type, e.g. Othello’s syndrome)
Auditory hallucinations followed by visual - most common perceptual abnormalities
How is post-stroke psychosis managed?
Some response to antipsychotics but increased risk of stroke in those with dementia
No controlled studies looking at treatment
List some physical illnesses that can cause mental illness
List some medications that can have adverse psychiatric effects
What factors can affect all cause mortality in people with chronic mental illnesses?
Medication adverse effects (e.g. weight gain, dyslipidaemia, insulin insensitivity, hypertension and sedation)
Increased rates of smoking, illicit substance use and alcohol intake
Poor diet and exercise
Chaotic lifestyles and low socioeconomic status
How can an increased risk of all cause mortality be mitigated in patients with chronic mental health illnesses?
Choose medication that minimises impact on physical health (e.g. weight gain sparing meds in those with increased BMI)
Monitoring of cardiometabolic factors (BMI, HbA1c, lipid profile, blood pressure)
Smoking cessation
Dietary advice
Drug and alcohol services
What factors may affect timely diagnosis of physical disorders in people with mental illness?
Illness behaviour (difference in health-seeking behaviour)
Diagnostic overshadowing (misattribution of physical symptoms to psychiatric symptoms)
Stigma
Lack of resources/access to services
What does MoCA stand for?
Montreal Cognitive Examination - used to diagnose Alzheimer’s
What is a delusion?
Fixed, false belief that is not understandable within the person’s sociocultural setting
What are the two different types of perceptual abnormality?
- Altered perceptions
- False perceptions
What is the difference between an altered perception and a false perception?
Altered - includes sensory distortions and illusions - in which there is a distorted internal perception of a real external object
False - includes hallucinations and pseudo-hallucinations in which there is an internal perception without an external object
What is the difference between pseudo and true hallucinations?
Pseudo - insight maintained - believes it isn’t real but can still see something
True - believe there is something there but there isn’t
What are the different sensory modalities of hallucination?
Visual
Auditory
Gustatory or olfactory
Tactile
What is the term for normal and relatively common hallucination phenomena?
Isolated hallucinatory experiences, e.g. feeling your phone vibrating when it isn’t
What is the ICD definition for delirium?
Organic cerebral syndrome characterised by concurrent disturbances of consciousness and attention, perception, thinking, memory, psychomotor behaviour, emotion and the sleep-wake schedule. The duration is variable and the degree of severity ranges from mild to severe.
