Organic Mental Disorders

Question 1

What is the ICD10 definition of organic mental disorder?

Answer 1

Mental disorders that are “due to common, demonstrable aetiology in cerebral disease, brain injury, or other insult leading to cerebral dysfunction”
Primary – direct effect on the brain
Secondary – systemic diseases that affect the brain in addition to other systems/organs

Question 2

What are acute organic mental disorders?

Answer 2

Delirium
Organic mood disorder
Organic psychotic disorder

Question 3

What are chronic organic mental disorders?

Answer 3

Dementia
Amnesic syndrome
Organic personality change

Question 4

What is delirium and its symptoms?

Answer 4

An aetiologically nonspecific syndrome characterised by concurrent disturbances of consciousness and attention, perception, thinking, memory, psychomotor behaviour, emotion, and the sleep-wake cycle
Impaired consciousness and attention
Cognitive disturbance
Psychomotor disturbance
Sleep cycle disturbance
Emotional disturbance

Question 5

What medications can be used to manage delirium?

Answer 5

Anti-psychotics (any work)
Benzodiazepines (can prolong stay)
Promethazine (anti-histamine that is used as sedative, use low doses)