Psych Flashcards
Explain the pathophysiology of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome:
Alcohol can cause thiamine deficiency by:
- Interfering with the conversion of thiamine to its active form
- Preventing absorption of thiamine in the duodenum
- Interfering with storage in the liver due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis or fatty liver
Thiamine is involved in numerous important cellular processes:
- Glucose metabolism
- Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in the brain
- Maintenance of normal amino acid and neurotransmitter levels in the brain
What is the difference between Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome?
Wernicke’s encephalopathy = acute, reverisble stage
Korsakoff’s syndrome = chronic and irreverisble, develops from untreated wernicke’s
3 causes of vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency:
- Inadequate intake (malnutrition)
- Malabsorption (stomach cancer & IBD)
- Alcohol abuse
What is anterograde amnesia?
Inability to form new memories after an amnesia inducing event
What is retrograde amnesia?
Inability to recall memories prior to an amnesia inducing event
5 psychological symptoms of Wernicke-Korsakoff’s syndrome:
- Anterograde amnesia
- Retrograde amnesia
- Hallucinations
- Confabulation
- Loss of coordination
3 key symptoms of wernicke-korsakoff’s:
- Nystagmus
- Ataxia
- Confusion
4 physical signs/symptoms seen in Wernicke-Korsakoff’s:
- Muscle atrophy
- Vision changes (double vision, drooping eyelids)
- Signs of liver disease (jaundice, ascites, spider naevi)
- Decreased reflexes
What is the emergency treatment for Wernicke’s?
Parenteral thiamine for a minimum of FIVE days
e.g. 500mg IV over 30 minutes, oral thiamine from day 5 onwards
NB: high risk of allergic reaction
How do you manage wernicke-korsakoff’s syndrome in the long term? (2)
- Prophylactic thiamine offered to harmful/dependent drinkers
- Treat co-morbidities e.g. heart failure
25% require long term institutionalisation
Give 5 positive symptoms of schizophrenia:
- Hallucinations
- Delusions
- Passivity phenomena
- Thought alienation
- Disturbance of mood
- Lack of insight
Give 5 negative symptoms of schizophrenia:
- Blunting of affect
- Poverty of speech
- Poverty of thought
- Self-neglect
- Amotivation/Anhedonia
- Poor non-verbal communication
- Lack of insight
At what age does schizophrenia typically present?
20s or 30s
3 risk factors for schizophrenia:
- Family hx
- Intrauterine and perinatal complications eg.g. low birth weight
- Intrauterine infection, particularly viral
- Abnormal early cognitive/neuromuscular developement
Criteria for diagnosing schizophrenia:
At least ONE first rank symptom OR at least TWO second rank symptoms
Give 4 first rank schizophrenia symptoms:
- Thought alienation (insertion, withdrawal, broadcasting)
- Passivity phenomena
- 3rd person auditory hallucinations
- Delusional perceptions
Give 3 second rank schizophrenia symptoms:
- Delusions/hallucinations
- Catatonic behaviour (mutusm, posturing, stupour)
- Negative symptoms
- Thought disorder (incoherence, irrelevance, neologisms)
First line pharmacological treatment for schizophrenia:
Atypical antipsychotic e.g. risperidone, olanzapine
What is Belle indifference?
A lac of concern and/or feeling of indifference about a symptoms or disability e.g. presents with paralysis in both legs but is indifferent/doesn’t carw
What is conversion?
Transposition of psychological conflict into somatic symptoms which may be of a motor or sensory nature
3 side effects of risperidone:
Acute parkinsonism
Elevated prolactin
Weight gain
7 organic causes of delirium:
P - pain I - infection N - hypoNatraemia C - constipation H - deHydration
M - medication
E - environment
When does delirium tremens present?
Begins 24 to 72 hours after alcohol consumption has been stopped/reduced
4 psychiatric and 4 physical symptoms of delirium tremens:
Psych:
- Hallucinations
- Confusion
- Severe agitation
- Delusions
Physical symptoms:
- Seizures
- Tachycardia
- Tremor
- Excessive sweating and other signs of chronic alcohol abuse/liver disease
How do you manage delirium tremens?
- ABCDE
- Check blood sugar
- Alert ITU
- Long acting benzo e.g. chlordiazepoxide or diazepam
- Prophylactic treatment for wernicke’s (thiamine IV)
- Supportive tx (fluids, nutrition)
How does alcohol cause feelings of euphoria and reward?
Ethanol is a GABA agonist, increasing the inhibitory actions of GABA on the CNS
Ethanol activates opioid receptors and induces the release of endorphins
Ethanol triggers the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens
What are the two theories of the pathophysiology of alcohol dependence?
- GABA, glutamate, dopamine & serotnin receptors become less sensitive to alcohol
- Neurons have fewer receptors to alcohol through down-regulation
Desensitization leads to increased drinking to reach previous effect
When do signs of withdrawal typically begin to present? When do they begin to improve?
~8 hours after a significant fall in blood alcohol levels
Symptoms peak on day 2 and improve by day 4 or 5
How do you decide who should be offered community assisted alcohol withdrawal?
Patients who drink 15 units a day and/or score more than 20 on AUDIT
3 tools for assessing alcohol dependence:
- CAGE (cut down, annoyed, guilty, eye-opener)
- Alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) - 8 or more = harmful drinking
- Severity of alcohol dependence questionaire (SADQ)
Criteria for inpatient alcohol withdrawal: (4)
Risk of suicide
Lack of social support
Hx of severe withdrawal reactions
Significant co-morbidities
3 contraindications to benzodiazepines:
- acute pulmonary insufficiency
- marked neuromuscular resp weakness
- unstable myasthenia gravis
- do not use as sole treatment for depression, psychosis, anxiety etc.
2 pharmacological treatments used to help maintain alcohol abstinence:
- Antabuse/Disulfram: causes a severe and unpleasant reaction to alcohol (risk of death)
- Naltrexone: used to reduce cravings (risk of overdose)
How do you calculate number of units?
Strength (ABC) x volume /1000
How many units is a pint of beer?
2
What effect would a blood alcohol level of 0.16-0.30% cause?
Alcohol poisoning, blackouts, vomiting, LOC
What effect would a blood alcohol of about 0.00-0.05% have?
Relaxed, happy, slurred speech, unbalance
How might a patient with an acute opioid overdose present? (5)
- Pinpoint pupils
- Respiratory depression
- Confusion/decreased consciousness
- N&V
- Track marks (arms/legs/elsewhere)
Pharmacological management of an acute opioid overdose:
400 micrograms naloxone IV or IM
THEN
800 micrograms for up to 2 doses at 1 minute intervals if no response to initial dose
Assessment/management of an acute opioid overdose:
ABCDE Get an ABG Get a CXR Give naloxone Maintain airway, ventilate if needed Give IV fluids
5 physical symptoms of acute opioid withdrawal:
- Runny nose/eyes
- Sneezing
- N, D&V
- Dilated pupils
- Tachycardia
- HTN
- Yawning
- Anorexia
- Abdominal cramps
5 psychological symptoms of acute opioid withdrawal:
Craving Guilt Anxiety Loss of cognitive skills Poor memory function
Physical complications/risks of long term opioid use:
- Abscess and cutaneous infections
- Infective endocarditis
- Overdose
- Infection (HIV, TB, sepsis)
- Chronic venous ulcer leading to amputation
- Venous and arterial thrombosis
- Poor nutrition
How long is methadone detectable in your system for?
7 to 9 days
How long is codeine/morphine/heroin dectable for?
48 hours
How long is cocaine detecable for?
2 to 3 days
Prescibing methadone for opioid addiction:
1mg in 1ml oral solution
Initial dose 10-30mg
Increase incrementally up to 60-120mg /day
NB: it may take several weeks to reach the desired dose so that the patient feels comfortable no longer using heroin
What is buprenorphine?
A potent opioid agonist used to assist opiate withdrawal
Has a lower risk of overdose in the induction phase than methadone
May interact with HIV medication
A pregnant women is keen to stop using heroin before her baby is born, what can be done to help?
You MUST prevent withdrawal during pregnancy, withdrawal can cause foetal demise and preterm labour
You can give methadone or buprenorphine to substitute heroin but it must be at the exact right level to avoid withdrawal
Give two examples of typical antipsychotics:
Haloperidol
Chlopromazine
Give three adverse effects of antipsychotics:
- Extrapyramidal side effects
- Hyperprolactinaemia
- Increased risk of stroke/thromboemobolism in elderly patients
Give 4 extra-pyramidal side effects:
- Parkinsonism
- Acute dystonia
- Akathisia (severe restlessness(
- Tardive dyskinesia
Extrapyramidal effects and hyperprolactinaemia are side effects of both typical and atypical antipsychotics - are these side effects more common in typical or atypical antipsychotics?
Typical antipsychotics are more frequently associated with these side effects
Give 3 examples of atypical antipsychotics:
Clozapine
Risperidone
Olanzapine
What is an oculogyric crisis
Spasmodic movements of the eyeballs into a fixed position (usually upwards)
Occurs in acute dystonia
Criteria for mania: (6)
At least 3 of the following, lasting for more than one week:
- Grandiosity
- Decreased need for sleep
- Flight of ideas
- Distractability
- Psychomotor agitation
- Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities without thought for consequences
Psychotic symptoms are also common (believes they have superpowers)
DSM-V criteria for bipolar disorder:
One episode of mania without depression
OR
One episode of hypomania with a single episode of major depression
What is the difference between bipolar I and II?
I: mania and depression (or sometimes only mainia)
II: more episodes of depression, mild hypomania, rapid cycling
What is hypomania?
A less intense version of mania, lasts <4 days: - Elevated mood - Increased energy - Poor concentration - Increased talkativeness - Mild reckless behaviour - Decreased need for sleep - NO psychotic symptoms etc.
Alternative causes of mania other than bipolar disorder:
Infection Hyperthyroidism Stroke Drugs etc.
Treatment of acute moderate-severe mania:
Olanzapine 10mg PO
Then adjust to 5-20mg/day
Long term pharmacological management of bipolar disorder:
First line mood stabiliser = lithium
If lithium not tolerated give sodium valproate (but never to a woman of child bearing potential)
6 signs of lithium toxicity:
T - tremor O - oliguric renal failure X - ataxia I - increased reflexes C - convulsions C - coma/reduced consciousness
How often should you monitor someone taking lithium?
- Check Li+ levels weekly, 12 hours post-dose, until the dose has been consistent for 4 weeks
- Then check monthly for 6 months
- Then check 3 monthly
What are the therapeutic ranges and toxicity level for lithium?
Therapeutic range: 0.4 to 1
Toxticity = >1
Other than Li+ levels, what else should you monitor in someone onlithium?
Plasma creatinine, U&Es and TFTs (every 6 months)
What complications can arise from taking lithium?
Affects thyroid and kidney function, can lead to hypothyroidism and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
Is there a gender difference in the rates of bipolar I and II?
Yes, lifetime rates of bipolar I are higher in males
Lifetime rates of bipolar II are higher in females
Diagnostic criteria for depression:
At lesat 2 of the 3 core symptoms for at least two weeks, persistently and pervastively:
- Low mood
- Loss of energy (anergia)
- Loss of pleasure (anhedonia)
What are the three core symptoms of depression?
- Low mood
- Loss of energy
- Loss of pleasure
Give 3 biological symptoms of depression:
- Change in sleep (early morning waking - ~2hrs before normal time)
- Change in appetite
- Change in libido
Give 5 cognitive symptoms of depression:
- Agitation
- Loss of confidence
- Guilt
- Loss of concentration
- Hopelessness
- Suicidal ideation
- Diurnal mood variation
How do you classify depression as mild/moderate/severe?
Mild: core symptoms & 2-3 others
Moderate: core symptoms, 4 others, functioning affected
Severe: as above but with suicidal ideation and marked loss of functioning
OR
Severe: with psychotic symptoms
4 psychotic symptoms seen in depression:
Psychotic symptoms in depression are mood congruent:
- guilty delusions
- derogatory voices
- nihilistic delusions e.g. believe they are dead or rotting away from the inside
NICE guidelines for mild/moderate depression (first, second, third line);
First line: low intensity psychological intervention e.g. group activity program
Second line: high intensity psychological intervention e.g. individual CBT
Third line: antidepressant therapy and/or escalation to psych services
Name 3 SSRIs:
Sertraline
Citalopram
Fluoextine