Psychiatry Flashcards
What are the two main classification systems for mental disorders?
- ICD-10
- DSM-5
Give 2 examples of biological approaches to psychiatric management
- Pharmacological therapy
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Definition: ECT
Electroconvulsive therapy
* done under general anesthesia
* small electric currents are passed through the brain, triggering a brief seizure
* causes change in brain chemistry
Give 2 examples of psychological approaches to psychiatric management
- Counselling
- Psychoeducation
- Psychotherapies e.g. CBT
Give 2 examples of social approaches to psychiatric management
- Support groups/self-help groups
- social services input e.g. financial, housing
Definition: Mood
Refers to a patient’s sustained, experienced emotional state over a period of time
Definition: Affect
Immediately expressed and observed emotion in response to stimulus (how we perceive someone else’s emotion)
When are fluctuations in mood considered as a mood disorder?
When the disturbance of mood is severe enough to cause impairment in the ADLs
Definition: Mood disorder
Any condition characterized by distorted, excessive or inappropriate moods or emotions for a sustained period of time
* also known as an affective disorder
Give 2 examples of affective disorders
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
Definition: Depression
Mood disorder characterized by persistent:
* Low mood
* Anhedonia
* Lack of energy
Definition: Dysthymia
A milder, but more chronic form of depression (>2 years)
Name 7 risk factors for depression
Biological:
* Chronic conditions - Parkinson’s, MS, hypothyroidism
* Meds - beta-blockers, steroids
* Genetic factors - family Hx, female
Psychological:
* Trauma - e.g.childhood abuse/neglect
* Low self-esteem
Social:
* Psychosocial issues - homeless, unemployed, divorced
* Poor social support
Clinical features: Name the 3 core symptoms of depression
- Low mood
- Anhedonia: lack of interest in previously enjoyed things
- Lack of energy
Clinical features: Name 5 biological symptoms of depression
- Sleep disturbance
- Psychomotor retardation / agitation
- Loss of libido
- Weight & appetite change
- Nihilistic thoughts / worthlessness / guilt
Clinical features: Name 2 psychotic symptoms of depression
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
DDx: Name some psychiatric differentials of depression
- Depressive episode linked to substance/medication use
- Bipolar affective disorder
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Bereavement
- Anxiety disorders
DDx: Name 3 organic illness differentials of depression
- Hypothyroidism
- Cushing’s disease or syndrome
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
What clinical investigations should you do for depression?
- PHQ-9 questionnaire
- FBC: anaemia
- TFTs: hypothypothyroidism - elevated TSH
- Vit B12 deficiency
- Glucose: diabetes can cause anergia
MRI / CT (where there is atypical presentation or features of an intracranial lesion)
Tx: What is the management for depression?
- Low -> high intensity psychosocial interventions: counselling -> CBT
- FIRST LINE MEDS: Antidepressants: SSRIs (sertraline/fluoxetine/citalopram) in conjunction with psychoeducation
- ECT in severe cases
Tx: What is the 1st line drug treatment for depression?
SSRI: Fluoxetine
What SSRI is best to give to someone after an MI?
Sertraline - doesn’t affect conduction of the heart (doesn’t prolong QT)
Who would you not give olanzapine to?
A diabetic because it can cause high blood sugar
When should Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) be considered?
In severe cases of depression where:
* Rapid Tx is needed e.g. life-threatening where Pt isn’t eating or drinking
* Pt has a strong preference to ECT
* Multiple other Tx have been unsuccessful (treatment resistant)
In severe schizophrenia
Definition: Bipolar disorder
Chronic episodic mood disorder characterized by at least one episode of mania (or hypomania) and a further episode of mania or depression.
Aetiology: Give 5 risk factors for bipolar disorder
- Genetics/family Hx
- Anxiety disorders
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Stressful life events (not specific to bipolar)
- Post-partum period
What are the two main forms of bipolar disorder?
- Bipolar I: Pt has experienced at least one episode of mania - no depression needed
- Bipolar II: Pt has experienced at least one episode of hypomania, but never an episode of must also have experienced at least one episode of ** depression**
What is cyclothymia?
A disorder characterised by a persistent instability of mood involving numerous periods of depression and mild elation
None of which are sufficiently severe or prolonged enough to justify a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder
Clinical Features: Name 5 symptoms of mania
- Elevated mood
- Increased activity level
- Grandiose delusions of self-importance
- flight of ideas
- Pressure of speech - fast speech
- Decreased need for sleep
- Marked distractibility
- Increased libido
- Reckless behaviour and spending
- Can also occur alongside psychotic symptoms
Clinical Features: Name 4 symptoms of hypomania
- Persistent, mild elevation of mood
- Increased energy and activity
- Increased sociability, talkativeness
- Increased libido
DDx: Name some differentials for bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia (delusions and hallucinations)
- Organic brain disorder (frontal lobe pathologies can result in a loss of social inhibitions)
- Drug use
- Recurrent depression
- Emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD)/borderline personality disorder (characterised by affective instability)
- Cyclothymia
What clinical
investigations would you do for bipolar disorder?
- Baseline blood tests: FBC,U&E,LFTs,TFTs,CRP,B12,folate,vitD
- HIV testing
- Toxicology screen
- Neurological exam
- CT head
Tx: Name 3 medications to treat bipolar disorder
- Antipsychotics: olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, haloperidol
- Mood stabilisers: lithium (sodium valproate can be added)
- Benzodiazepines: lorazepam
Tx: What non-pharmacological treatments are used for bipolar disorder?
- ECT
- CBT
- support groups
What do you need to monitor for when treating a patient with lithium?
Kidney function and thyroid function and calcium
Every 6 months
Definition: Psychosis
A mental state in which reality is greatly distorted
Aetiology: Name 4 non-organic causes of psychosis
- Schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Mood disorders with psychosis
- Drug-induced psychosis
Aetiology: Name 5 organic causes of psychosis
- Drug-induced psychosis: alcohol, cocaine, amphetamine, MDMA
- Iatrogenic (medication)
- Delerium
- Dementia
- Huntington’s disease
- Endocrine disturbance e.g. Cushing’s syndrome
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
Aetiology: Name 4 medicitions that can cause psychosis
- Levodopa
- Methyldopa
- Steroids
- Antimalarials - chloroquine enters the BBB
Clinical features: How does psychosis present?
“abnormality of perception/thought”
* Delusions
* Hallucinations
* Thought disorder
Definition: Delusion
A fixed, false belief in something that is not within their usual belief system
Definition: Hallucination
A perception in the absence of an external stimulus
Definition: Pseudohallucination
Involuntary sensory experience vivid enough to be regarded as a hallucination, but is recognised by the person as being subjective and unreal
Definition: Illusion
An incorrect perception of a ‘real’ external stimulus
Name 5 types of delusions
- Persecutory: believing others want to harm them
- Grandiose: exaggerated sense of one’s importance/power/knowledge/identity
- Somatic: believing something is wrong with/missing on their body
- Jealous: believing partner is unfaithful without reason (people with chronic alcohol abuse)
- Erotomanic: believing someone of a higher social status is in love with them
- reference: believing that they can pick up on other peoples thoughts, or things are directed against you (schizophrenia)
- nihilistic: believing that there is no future for themself and very negative (severe depression)
Definition: Schizophrenia
Most common psychotic condition characterised by hallucinations, delusions and thought disorders, which lead to functional impairment
Definition: Schizoaffective disorder
Characterised by both symptoms of schizophrenia and a mood disorder (depression/mania) in the same episode of illness
Aetiology: Name 4 risk factors for developing schizophrenia
- Family Hx
- Obstetric complications/fetal injury/intrauterine infection
- Stressful life events
- Substance misuse e.g. cannabis
What are the 6 subtypes of schizophrenia?
- Paranoid (most common)
- Hebephrenic
- Catatonic
- Undifferentiated
- Simple
- Residual
Clinical features: What are Schneider’s first rank symptoms? (4)
- Delusional perception
- 3rd person auditory hallucinations
- Thought interference: insertion, withdrawal, broadcasting
- Passivity phenomenon/somatic passivity: feelings/actions/impulses are controlled by an external agent
Definition: Delusional perception
Person believes that a normal percept has a special meaning for them
Clinical features: What is the difference between positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
- Positive symptoms represent an excess or distortion of normal function (i.e. a change in behaviour or thought)
- Negative symptoms refer to a decline in normal functioning
Clinical features: Name 5 positive symptoms of schizophrenia
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Formal thought disorder
- Thought interference
- Passivity phenomenon
Clinical features: Name 5 negative symptoms of schizophrenia
- Social isolation
- Decreased motivation
- Blunted affect
- Alogia: poverty of speech
- Anhedonia
Ix: What investigations are used to rule out other causes of psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia? (7)
- Blood tests (FBC,TFTs,U&E,LFTs,CRP, fasting glucose)
- Urine culture: rule out UTI causing delirium
- Urine drug screen: rule out drug intoxication
- HIV testing
- Syphilis serology
- Serum lipids: before starting antipsychotics
- Relevant imaging: CT head
What is required to form a diagnosis of schizophrenia?
- A first-rank symptom or persistent delusion present for at least one month
- No other cause for psychosis e.g. drug intoxication/withdrawal, brain disease, extensive depressive or manic symptoms
Tx: What is the general management of schizophrenia?
Care programme approach
* Assessing health and social needs
* Creating a care plan
* Appointing a key worker to be the first point of contact
* Reviewing treatment
Several MDTs may be involved: early intervention team, community mental health team, crisis resolution team
Tx: What drug type is used to treat schizophrenia?
D2 receptor antagonists
D2 = dopamine
Tx: What is the difference between typical and atypical antipsychotics?
- Typical antipsychotics cause generalised dopamine receptor blockade
- Atypical antipsychotics are more selective in their dopamine blockade. They also block serotonin 5-HT2 receptors
Tx: Name 3 typical antipsychotics
- Haloperidol
- Chlorpromazine
- Loxapine
Tx: Name 4 atypical antipsychotics
- Olanzapine
- Risperidone
- Clozapine
- Quetiapine
Tx: Why are atypical antipsychotics preferred over typical antipsychotics?
Fewer and less severe side effects
Tx: Name 5 side effects of typical antipsychotics
- Extrapyramidal side effects (EPSEs): parkinsonism, akathisia, dystonia, dyskinesia
- Hyperprolactinaemia: sexual dysfunction, increased risk of osteoporosis, amenorrhoea, gynaecomastia & hypogonadism in men
- Metabolic SEs: weight gain, hyperlipidaemia
- Anticholinergic SEs: tachycardia, dry mouth, urinary retention
Tx: What drug is used when both typical and atypical antipsychotics have been ineffective in treating schizophrenia?
Clozapine
What can clozapine cause?
- Agranulocytosis
- Reduced seizure threshold
- hypersalivation
- constipation
- cardiomyopathy
Definition: Neurosis
Collective term for psychiatric disorders characterised by distress that are:
- non-organic
- have a discrete onset
- where delusions and hallucinations are absent
Definition: Anxiety
An unpleasant emotional state involving subjective fear and somatic symptoms
When is anxiety described as an illness?
If it becomes excessive or inappropriate
What does the Yerkes-Dodson law state?
Anxiety can actually be beneficial up to a plateau of optimal functioning. Beyond this level, performance deteriorates
Clinical features: Name 5 common symptoms of neuroses
- Psychological: fear of impending doom, worrying thoughts, restlessness, poor concentration/attention, irritability
- Cardiovascular: palpitations, chest pain
- Respiratory: hyperventilation, tight chest
- GI: abdominal pain, N+V, loose stools
- GU: more frequent urination, failure of erection
- Neuromuscular: tremor, myalgia, headache, parasthesia
What are the 2 main categories anxiety disorders can be divided into?
- Generalised anxiety: present most of the time, not associated with specific objects/situations, typically longer duration
- Paroxysmal anxiety: has an abrupt onset, occurs in short-lived, discrete episodes
Name 5 medical conditions associated with anxiety
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypoglycaemia
- Anaemia
- Phaeochromocytoma
- Cushing’s disease
- COPD
- Malignancies
Name 3 substance-related conditions associated with anxiety
- Intoxication: alcohol, cannabis, caffeine
- Withdrawal: alcohol, caffeine
- Side effects: thyroxine, steroids, adrenaline
Name 5 psychiatric conditions associated with anxiety
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- OCD
- PTSD
Definition: Generalised anxiety disorder
A syndrome of ongoing, uncontrollable, widespread worry about events or thoughts that the patient recognises as excessive and inappropriate
How long must symptoms be present for to be classified as GAD?
Most days for at least 6 months
Aetiology: Name 2 biological causes of GAD
- Genetics: 5-fold increase in GAD in first degree relatives of Pt with GAD
- Neurophysiological: autonomic NS dysfunction, exaggerated responses in amygdala and hippocampus
Aetiology: Name 2 environmental causes of GAD
- Stressful life events: Hx of child abuse, relationship problems, personal illness, employment/finances, living alone/as a single parent
- Substance dependence
Clinical features: Name some symptoms of GAD
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest pain/discomfort
- Nausea
- Abdominal pain
- Feeling dizzy/light-headed
- Fear of dying
- Muscle tension, aches, pains
- Restlessness
Ix: Name some investigations for GAD
- Bloods: FBC (infection/anaemia), TFTs (hyperthyroidism), glucose (hypoglycaemia)
- ECG: may show sinus tachycardia
- Questionnaires: GAD-7, Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS)
DDx: Name some differentials for GAD
- Other neurotic disorders: panic disorder, specific phobias, OCD, PTSD
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
- Personality disorder: anxious PD, dependent PD
- Excessive caffeine or alcohol consumption
- Withdrawal from drugs
- Organic: anaemia, hyperthyroidism, hypoglycaemia, phaeochromocytoma
Tx: What is the stepped care model for the management of GAD?
- Psychoeducation and active monitoring
- Low-intensity psychological interventions: self-help
- High-intensity psychological interventions: CBT or drug treatment
- Combination of drug and psychological therapies
Tx: What is the first line drug used to treat GAD?
SSRI: sertraline
Has anxiolytic effects
Tx: What is the drug treatment of GAD?
- SSRI: sertraline
- If this doesn’t help –> SNRI: venlafaxine/duloxetine
- If both ineffective –> pregabalin
Symptomatic tx is propranolol
## Footnote
Meds should be used for at least a year
Tx: When should benzodiazepines be offered to treat GAD?
Only as short-term measures during crises as they can cause dependence
Definition: Phobia
An intense, irrational fear of an object, situation, place or person that is recognised as excessive or unreasonable
Definition: Agoraphobia
Fear of public spaces from which immediate escape would be difficult in the event of a panic attack
Definition: Social phobia/ Social anxiety disorder
A fear of social situations which may lead to humiliation, critisism or embarrassment
Definition: Specific (isolated) phobia
A fear restricted to a specific object or situation e.g. animals, injury
Aetiology: Name 6 risk factors for phobias
- Adverse experiences (with specific objects/situations)
- Stress/ negative life events
- Mood disorders
- Other anxiety disorders
- Substance misuse
- Family Hx
Clinical features: Name 5 symptoms of phobias
- Tachycardia (however in phobias of blood/injury/illness a vasovagal response is produced - bradycardia which can lead to syncope)
- Unpleasant anticipatory anxiety
- Inability to relax
- Urge to avoid the feared situation
- Fear of dying
Ix: What questionnaires are used when diagnosing phobias?
- Social phobia inventory
- Liebowitz social anxiety scale
DDx: Name 5 differentials of phobias
- Panic disorder
- PTSD
- Anxious PD
- Depression
- Schizophrenia
Tx: What is the management of the 3 phobic anxiety disorders?
- CBT
- Gradual exposure
- SSRIs for agoraphobia and social phobia
- Benzodiazepines may be used in the short-term for specific phobias e.g. claustrophobic but need a CT scan
What are SNRIs?
Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors
venlafaxine, duloxetine
Tx: What drug is used to treat social phobia if SSRIs and SNRIs are ineffective?
MAOI: moclobemide
monoamine oxidase inhibitors
Definition: Panic disorder
Disorder characterised by recurrent, episodic, severe panic attacks, which are unpredictable and not restricted to any particular situation.
Aetiology: Name 3 biological causes of panic disorder
- Genetics
- Neurochemical: post synaptic hypersensitivity to serotonin and adrenaline
- Sympathetic NS: fear/worry stimulates SNS –> increased cardiac output –> further anxiety
Aetiology: Name 8 risk factors for panic disorder
- Family Hx
- Female
- White ethnicity
- Age 20-30
- Major life events
- Recent trauma
- Asthma
- Medication e.g. benzodiazepine withdrawal
Clinical features: How long do panic disorder symptoms usually last?
Symptoms usually peak within 10 minutes and rarely persist beyond an hour
Clinical features: Name some symptoms of panic disorder
- Palpitations
- Intense fear of death
- Chest pain
- Sweating
- Shaking
- Shortness of breath
- Abdominal distress
- Depersonalisation/derealisation
- Numbness
- Nausea
DDx: Name some psychiatric and organic differentials for panic disorder
- Psychiatric: other anxiety disorders, bipolar, depression, schizophrenia
- Organic: Phaeochromocytoma, hyperthyroidism, hypoglycaemia, arrhythmias, alcohol/substance withdrawal
Tx: What is the drug management of panic disorder?
- SSRI is 1st line
- If these don’t work after 12 weeks, then consider a TCA (imipramine/clomipramine)
Tx: Name 2 examples of a TCA used to treat panic disorder
- Imipramine
- Clomipramine
Definition: Post traumatic stress disorder
An intense, prolonged, delayed reaction following exposure to an exceptionally traumatic event
Definition: Abnormal bereavement
Grief that Has a delayed onset, is more intense and is prolonged (>6 months)
Definition: Acute stress reaction
An abnormal reaction to sudden stressful events
Definition: Adjustment disorder
When there is significant distress accompanied by an impairment in social functioning when adapting to new circumstances
Give 5 risk factors for PTSD
- Exposure to a major traumatic event: professions at risk (army, police, doctors), groups at risk (refugees, asylum seekers)
- Previous trauma
- Hx of mental illness
- Childhood abuse
- Post-trauma –> absence of social support, concurrent life stressors
Clinical features: Name the 4 categories of PTSD symptoms
Must occur within 6 months of the event
- Reliving the situation: flashbacks, vivid memories, nightmares
- Avoidance: avoiding reminders of trauma (e.g. associated people/locations), inability to recall aspects of the trauma
- Hyperarousal: irritability/outbursts, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response
- Emotional numbing: negative thoughts about oneself, difficulty experiencing emotions, feeling detached from others, giving up previously enjoyed activities
Ix: Name 3 investigations for PTSD
- Trauma screening questionnaire (TSQ)
- ** Post-traumatic diagnostic scale**
- CT head (if head injury suspected)
DDx: Name 5 differentials for PTSD (8)
- Adjustment disorder
- Acute stress reaction
- Bereavement
- Dissociative disorder
- Mood or anxiety disorders
- Personality disorder
- Head injury
- Alcohol/substance misuse
Tx: What is the management of PTSD where symptoms are present within 3 months of trauma?
- Watchful waiting (< 4 weeks)
- Trauma-focused CBT (8-12 sessions)
- Short-term drug Tx for managing sleep disturbance (e.g. zopiclone)
- Risk assessment (assess risk for neglect/suicide)
Tx: What is the management of PTSD where symptoms have been present > 3 months after trauma?
Trauma-focused psychological intervention
2 options:
* CBT
* EMDR
Drug Tx considered when:
* Little benefit from psychological therapy
* Patient preference
* Co-morbid depression / severe hyperarousal
Tx: What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
* helps patient access and process traumatic memories
* involves recalling emotionally traumatic material while focusing on an external stimulus
Tx: Name 4 drugs used to treat PTSD
- velafaxine = 1st line
- Sertraline
- Paroxetine
- Venlafaxine
- Fluoxetine
Definition: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Disorder characterised by recurrent obsessional thoughts and/or compulsive acts
Definition: Obsessions
Unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or urges that repeatedly enter the individual’s mind.
They are distressing for the Pt who attempts to resist them and recognises them as absurd (egodystonic) and a product of their own mind
Definition: Compulsions
Repetitive, stereotyped behaviours or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform.
- They are overt (observable by others) or covert (mental acts not observable)
Aetiology: Name 3 potential causes of OCD
- Family Hx
- Streptococcal infections
- Stressful life events
Clinical features: Name the 4 features that obsessions/compulsions always share
- Failure to resist
- Originate from the patient’s mind
- Repetitive and distressing
- Carrying out the obsessive thought/compulsive act is not in itself pleasurable, but reduces anxiety levels
What is the OCD cycle?
Obsession > Anxiety > Compulsion > Relief
Name 4 common obsessions in OCD
- Contamination
- Fear of harm (door locks)
- Excessive concern with order/symmetry
- Others: sex, blasphemy, violence, doubt
Name 5 common compulsions in OCD
- Checking (e.g. taps, doors)
- Cleaning/washing
- Repeating acts (e.g. counting/arranging objects)
- Mental compulsions (e.g. special words repeated in a set manner)
- Hoarding
Ix: What investigations are used to diagnose OCD?
Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS)
DDx: Name 5 differentials for OCD (9)
- Both obsessions and compulsions: eating disorders
- Primarily obsessions: anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia
- Primarily compulsions: Tourette’s syndrome, kleptomania
- Organic: Dementia, epilepsy, head injury
Tx: What is the management for OCD?
- CBT including ERP (exposure and response prevention)
- SSRIs: fluoxetine, sertraline
- Clomipramine (TCA)
Definition: Somatisation disorder
Multiple, recurrent and frequently changing physical symptoms not explained by a physical illness over 6 months
Definition: Dissociation
A process of separating off certain memories from normal consciousness.
This is a physiological defence mechanism used to cope with emotional conflict that is so distressing to the patient, it is prevented from entering their conscious mind.
Definition: Conversion (in terms of psychiatric Sx)
Distressing events are transformed into physical symptoms
E.g anxiety may manifest into GI symptoms
Name 6 risk factors for somatoform and dissociative disorders
- Childhood abuse
- Reinforcement of illness behaviours
- Anxiety disorders
- Mood disorders
- Personality disorders
- Social stressors
Tx: Name 4 managements for somatoform and dissociative disorders
- SSRIs (antidepressants)
- Physical exercise
- CBT
- Encouraging stress-relieving activities
Definition: Acute intoxication
Theacute, usually transient, effect of the substance
Definition: Dependence syndrome
Prolonged, compulsive substance use leading to addiction, tolerance and the potential for withdrawal symptoms
Definition: Withdrawal state
Physical and/or psychological effects from complete (or partial) cessation of a substance after prolonged, repeated or high level of use
Definition: Substance-induced psychotic disorder
Onset of psychotic symptoms within 2 weeks of substance use.
Must persist for > 48 hrs
Name 5 environmental factors that can lead to substance dependence
- Peer pressure
- Life stressors
- Parental drug use
- Cultural acceptability
- Personal vulnerability
What is the chain of events leading to substance dependence?
- Takes substance
- Positive reinforcement: psychosocial (from peers/ pleasurable effects of the drug), biological (activates mesolimbic dopaminergic reward pathways)
- Dependence
Name 4 examples of opiates
- Morphine
- Heroin
- Codeine
- Methadone
Name 3 psychological effects of opiates
- Apathy
- Disinhibition
- Psychomotor retardation
- Impaired judgement/attention
- Drowsiness
- Slurred speech
Name 3 physical effects of opiates
- Respiratory depression
- Hypoxia
- Decreased BP
- Hypothermia
- Coma
- Pupillary constriction
Name some symptoms of opiate withdrawal
FLAPPY HANDS
Fever and chills
Lacrimation
Agitation
Piloerection
Pupillary dilation
Yawning
Hypertension and tachychardia
Aches
Nausea
Diarrhea
Sweating