Neuroscience Week 7: Psych Dx and Delirium Flashcards
What is psychiatry?
the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders
Psychiatrists vs psychologists

What is used to make a diagnosis in psychiatry

6 basic human emotions recognized by babies
- happy
- scared
- anger
- surprise
- disgust
- sadness

what makes a psychiatric disorder?
if they cause significant distress or impair function then they are considered a disorder

Question 1

D.
Whats the most important thing for a psychiatric evaluation?
- history
- mental status exam

BioPsychoSocial Formulation

Psychosis Definition

Psychosis positive symptoms
3 listed
- delusions
- hallucinations
- disorganized speech
Psychosis negative symptoms
2 listed
- diminished emotional expression
- avolition
Perceptual disturbances examples
6 listed
- Illusion
- Hallucinations
- derealization
- depersonalization
- Dissociation
- Deja Vu

Illusion definition
Misperception of actual stimuli
Hallucinations definition
presence of a perception in the absence of stimuli
Derealization definition
feeling the world around you is not real
Depersonalization definition
thinking you are not real
Dissociation definition
feeling like you are not in your body or separate from body
(often seen in trauma where you dissociate from your body)
Deja Vu definition
feeling like you have already been or seen something
Question 2

B. Illusions
Thought disturbances examples
3 listed
- Delusions
- Obsession
- Disorganization

Delusions definition and examples
(thoughts/beliefs)
A fixed, false belief (culturally inappropriate)
(Paranoid, grandiose, hyper-religious, erotomanic, somatic, of reference, of control)
Obsession definition
intrusive thought, image, or urge that is repetitive, unwanted, and in a moment of quiet reflection seen as ego-dystonic
Disorganization definition
starts as loosening of associations can progress to word salad in Schizophrenia
Question 3

B. Paranoid
Behavior disturbances examples
4 listed
- Compulsion
- self-injurious behavior
- Suicidality
- Acting out

Compulsion definition
behavior aimed at reducing obsession or anxiety in general, may be mental activity
Self-injurious behavior definition
behavior aimed at self-harm such as cutting, pinching, burning, scratching, often aimed at reducing anxiety or attempting to “feel”
Suicidality definition
behavior aimed at terminating one’s own life
What is mood
mood is a SUSTAINED predisposition to emotion

Mood is not _______
- affect
- smile then have a happy affect
- if you actually feel happy you have a happy emotion
Mood disorders criteria
consist of prolonged episodes of disturbed, sustained mood causing distress or psychosocial dysfunction
Mood vs affect

The big 3 presentations in psychiatry
- Depressed
- Psychotic
- Anxious

Differential Dx in psychiatry

Depressed presentation Psychiatric causes
5 listed
- Major depression
- Bipolar disorder
- persistent depression
- adjustment disorder
- Bereavement
Depressed presentation questions to ask
- feelings about self?
- Negative triad
- Mood-congruent psychosis?
Depressed presentation Non-Psychiatric causes
5 listed
think…
- endocrine
- infection
- neoplasm
- metabolic
- meds/drugs
Medical causes of depressive presentation
- degenerative changes (e.g. parkinsons, Huntingtons, MS)
- cerebrovascular disease (stroke, MI, CHF)
- endocrine (DM, hyper and hypothyroid, adrenal, and parathyroid)
- autoimmune conditions (lupus)
- viral or other infections (influenza, hepatitis, mononucleosis, HIV)
- cancers (cancers of the pancreas)
- chronic lung disease
- vitamin deficiencies (vitamin B)

Degenerative neurological disease that can cause depressive presentation
- Parkinsons
- Huntingtons
- MS
Cerebrovascular disease that can cause depressive presentation
- Stroke
- MI
- CHF
Endocrine issues that can cause depressive presentation
- DM
- hyper and hypothyroid
- adrenal
- parathyroid
Autoimmune conditions that can cause depressive presentation
lupus
Viral or other infections that can cause depressive presentation
- influenza
- hepatitis
- mononucleosis
- HIV
Cancers that can cause depressive presentation
cancers of the pancreas
Vitamin deficiencies that can cause depressive presentation
Vitamin B
Substances that can cause depressive presentation: drugs of abuse
meth
alcohol/depressants
opioids
cannabis

Substances that can cause depressive presentation: medications
4 listed
- Steroid hormones
- anticancer drugs
- hepatitis treatment
- melatonin
Anxious psychiatric causes
9 listed
Anxiety Disorders
- GAD
- Panic DO
- Phobia
- Social anxiety
- OCD
- ASD or PTSD
Mood disorders
- Psychotic disorder
- Adjustment disorder
- Bereavement
Anxious psychiatric causes
6 listed
GAD
Panic DO
Phobia
Social anxiety
OCD
ASD or PTSD
Mood disorders that can result in anxiety
3 listed
- Psychotic disorder
- adjustment disorder
- bereavement
Questions to ask for a suspected mood disorder
4 listed
- Chronicity?
- Stressor?
- Trauma?
- Drug/medication side effect?
Substance-induced anxiety disorder

Most common medical disorders causing anxiety symptoms
- endocrine
- cardiovascular
- respiratory
- metabolic
- neurological

Endocrine conditions that can cause anxiety syndromes
- thyroid
- DM
- Pheochromocytoma
- Cushing’s
Cardiovascular conditions that can cause anxiety syndromes
3 listed
- CHF
- PE
- Arrhythmia
Metabolic conditions that can cause anxiety syndromes
2 listed
- B12 deficiency
- Porphyria
Respiratory conditions that can cause anxiety syndromes
3 listed
- COPD
- Pneumonia
- Asthma
Neurological conditions that can cause anxiety syndromes
- neoplasia
- vestibular
- encephalitis
Psychotic
- psychotic disorders
- mood disorders

Psychotic disorders
4 listed
- brief psychosis
- schizophreniform
- schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective disorder
Mood disorders that can cause psychosis questions
Bizarre?
acuity vs chronicity?
Does past tend to repeat itself?
mood congruence?
visual hallucinations: medical?
Somatic hallucinations: “formication” is substance induced?
Mood conguence
do the presentations go along with the mood of the person
visual hallucinations makes you think?
Medical causes
Somatic hallucinations makes you think?
drug induced causes
Confusion psychiatric presentations

Anyone over 50 with new psychiatric presentation consider?
medical causes until proven otherwise and RETEST
Confusion affect presentations
agitated or depressed presentation
always check ______ in all inpatients
cognition
In elderly for confusion check?
urine, consider drugs, bowel status, hydration, infections
DSM-5 criteria for delirium
5 listed

Delirium symptoms
6 listed

Delirium prevalence

Delirium DDx

Risk factors for delirium
5 listed
↑ DA, ↓ACh
- Age/dementia
- Infection/surgery
- Drugs
- Nutrition
- Hypoxia

Common medical causes of delirium
3 listed
- Viral encephalopathy
- Seizure disorder
- Lupus cerebritis
- Hepatic (metabolic) encephalopathy
- Wernicke-Korsakoff

Viral encephalopathy causes of delirium
2 listed
- Herpes
- HIV: causes rapid and acute confusion, hallucinations, may cause seizures
Seizure disorder causes of delirium
- various perceptual distrubances
- hallucinations
- comorbid depression is common
Lupus cerebritis causes of delirium
3 listed
- Mania
- psychosis
- hyper-religiousity
Hepatic (metabolic) encephalopathy causes of delirium
- confusion
- ascites
- asterixis
- suggestibility
- dermatologic signs
- hepatorenal syndrome
Wernicke-Korsakoff causes of delirium
- Acute Wernicke triad confusion, lateral recuts palsy and ataxia
- Chronic Korsakoff anterograde amnesia (repleted with thiamine)
- Confabulation

Delirium work-up

Delirium vs Dementia

Delirium onset
Acute
Delirium Course
fluctuating
Delirium duration
hours to weeks
Delirium attention
fluctuates
Delirium perception
hallucinations
Delirium sleep/wake
reversed
Dementia onset
insidious
Dementia course
steady decline
Dementia duration
months/years
Dementia attention
normal
Dementia perception
delusions
Dementia sleep/wake
fragmented
Dementia with behavioral disturbances

Treatment of dementia with behavioral disturbances

Beers Criteria
- best not to add medicines to a brain that is already confused
- certain medications can cause or exacerbate delusions or delirium

Beers criteria psychotropics
DONT GIVE to people over 65
