Psychiatry Flashcards
What are the key features of acute stress disorder?
occurs in first 4 weeks after a traumatic event
intrusive thoughts e.g. flashbacks, nightmares
dissociation e.g. ‘being in a daze’, time slowing
negative mood
avoidance
arousal e.g. hypervigilance, sleep disturbance
What is the management of acute stress disorder?
Trauma-focused CBT
Benzodiazepines
What are the features of alcohol withdrawal?
Symptoms start at 6-12 hours after cessation - tremor, sweating, tachycardia, anxiety
What are the features of delirium tremens?
Coarse tremor, confusion, delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, fever, tachycardia
When is the peak incidence of seizures following alcohol withdrawal?
36 hours
When is the peak incidence of delirium tremens?
48-72 hours
What is the management of delirium tremens?W
Admit to hospital for monitoring until withdrawals stabilized
Long-acting benzodiazepines (chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, lorazepam if hepatic failure)
What are the features of anorexia nervosa?
reduced body mass index
bradycardia
hypotension
enlarged salivary glands
What physiological abnormalities are present in anorexia nervosa?
hypokalaemia low FSH, LH, oestrogens and testosterone raised cortisol and growth hormone impaired glucose tolerance hypercholesterolaemia hypercarotinaemia low T3
What is the MOA of typical antipsychotics?
Dopamine D2 receptor antagonists, blocking dopaminergic transmission in the mesolimbic pathways
What is the MOA of atypical antipsychotics?
Act on a variety of receptors (D2, D3, D4, 5-HT)
What are the adverse side effects of typical antipsychotics?
Parkinsonism Acute dystonia (torticollis, oculogyric crisis) Akathisia Tardive dyskinesia Hyperprolactinemia Neuroleptic malignant syndrome Reduced seizure threshold Prolonged QT interval Anti-muscarinic
What is the management of acute dystonia?
Procyclidine
What are the features of tardive dyskinesia?
Late onset of choreoathetoid movements, abnormal, involuntary, may occur in 40% of patients, may be irreversible, most common is chewing and pouting of jaw
What does the use of antipsychotics increase the risk of in the elderly?
Stroke
VTE
What are the side effects of atypical antipsychotics?
Weight gain
Agranulocytosis
Hyperprolactinemia
Which atypical antipsychotic is associated with agranulocytosis?
Clozapine
Which atypical antipsychotic is associated with dyslipidemia and obesity?
Olanzapine
How should benzodiazepines be stopped?
Swtich to an equivalent dose of diazepam and reduce the dose every 2-3 weeks in steps of 2 or 2.5mg.
The time for withdrawal can vary from 4 weeks to a year or more.
What are the features of body dysmorphic disorder?
Preoccupation with an imagine defect in appearance. If a slight physical anomaly is present, the person’s concern is markedly excessive
The preoccupation causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning
The preoccupation is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., dissatisfaction with body shape and size in Anorexia Nervosa)
What are the criteria for bulimia nervosa?
Recurrent episodes of binge eating
Sense of lack of control over eating during the episode
Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior to prevent weight gain (vomiting, laxative abuse, diuretics, fasting, exercise, etc)
Binge eating and compensatory behaviors occur at least once a week for three months.
What is the management of bulimia nervosa?
Specialist care
CBT-ED
High dose fluoxetine
What are the risk factors for Charles-Bonnet syndrome?
Advanced age Peripheral visual impairment - age related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract Social isolation Sensory deprivation Early cognitive impairment
What is Charles-Bonnet syndrome?
persistent or recurrent complex hallucinations (usually visual or auditory), occurring in clear consciousness, usually with a background of visual impairment
What is Cotard syndrome?
The affected patient believes that they (or in some cases just a part of their body) is either dead or non-existent. It is usually associated with severe depression and psychotic disorders.
What is De Clerambault’s syndrome, also known as erotomania?
a form of paranoid delusion with an amorous quality. The patient, often a single woman, believes that a famous person is in love with her.
What is delusional parasitosis?
A relatively rare condition where a patient has a fixed, false belief (delusion) that they are infested by ‘bugs’ e.g. worms, parasites, mites, bacteria, fungus. This may occur in conjunction with other psychiatric conditions or may present by itself, with patients often otherwise quite functional despite the delusion.
What are the side-effects of ECT?
headache nausea short term memory impairment memory loss of events prior to ECT cardiac arrhythmia impaired memory
What is the only absolute contraindication for ECT?
Raised intracranial pressure
What is the indication for ECT?
Severe depression refractory to medication and with psychotic symptoms
Define anxiety.
excessive worry about a number of different events associated with heightened tension
What is the management of generalized anxiety disorder?
Education and active monitoring
Warn patients under 30 they are at increased risk of suicidal thinking and self-harm
Psychological intervention
MDT
Sertraline (second line SSRI or SNRI, third line pregabalin)
What is the management of panic disorder?
Recognition and diagnosis
CBT
SSRI (second line imipramine or clomipramine)
Mental health services referral
What are atypical grief reactions?
delayed grief: sometimes said to occur when more than 2 weeks passes before grieving begins
prolonged grief: difficult to define. Normal grief reactions may take up to and beyond 12 months
What is the key difference between mania and hypomania?
Mania has the presence of psychotic symptoms
What are the features of Korsakoff’s syndrome?
Follows on from untreated Wernicke’s encephalopathy
Anterograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia
Confabulation
What is the MOA of lithium?
Interferes with cAMP formation
What are the adverse side effects of lithium?
nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea
fine tremor
nephrotoxicity: polyuria, secondary to nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
thyroid enlargement, may lead to hypothyroidism
ECG: T wave flattening/inversion
weight gain
idiopathic intracranial hypertension
leucocytosis
hyperparathyroidism and resultant hypercalcaemia
What monitoring is required on lithium?
Check levels 12 hours post-dose
After starting, check levels weekly and after each dose change until levels are stable
Once stable, check lithium levels every 3 months for the first year and then 6 months thereafter
Check TFTs and U+Es every 6 months
What are the ADRs of MAOIs?
hypertensive reactions with tyramine containing foods e.g. cheese, pickled herring, Bovril, Oxo, Marmite, broad beans
anticholinergic effects
Define obsession.
An obsession is defined as an unwanted intrusive thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters the person’s mind.
Define compulsion.
Compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform. A compulsion can either be overt and observable by others, such as checking that a door is locked, or a covert mental act that cannot be observed, such as repeating a certain phrase in one’s mind.
What is the management of OCD?
Mild functional impairment: CBT, exposure and response prevention
Moderate functional impairment: SSRI for at least 12 months after remission, more intense CBT/ERP
Severe functional impairment: SSRI + CBT (including ERP)
What is Othello syndrome?
Othello’s syndrome is pathological jealousy where a person is convinced their partner is cheating on them without any real proof. This is accompanied by socially unacceptable behaviour linked to these claims.