Psychiatry - First Aid Flashcards
Psychology:
- learning in which a natural response (salivation) is elicited by a conditioned, or learned, stimulus (bell) that previously was presented in conjunction with an unconditioned stimulus (food)
- usually deals with involuntary responses
- Pavlov’s classical experiments with dogs—ringing the bell provoked salivation
Classical Conditioning
Psychology:
- learning in which a particular action is elicited because it produces a punishment or reward
- usually deals with voluntary responses
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning:
target behavior (response) is followed by desired reward (positive reinforcement) or removal of aversive stimulus (negative reinforcement)
Reinforcement
Operant Conditioning:
- discontinuation of reinforcement (positive or negative) eventually eliminates behavior
- can occur in operant or classical conditioning
Extinction
Operant Conditioning:
repeated application of aversive stimulus (positive punishment) or removal of desired reward (negative punishment) to extinguish unwanted behavior (Skinner’s operant conditioning quadrant)
Punishment
Psychology:
patient projects feelings about formative or other important persons onto physician (eg. psychiatrist is seen as parent)
Transference
Psychology:
doctor projects feelings about formative or other important persons onto patient (eg. patient reminds physician of younger sibling)
Countertransference
Psychology:
mental processes (unconscious or conscious) used to resolve conflict and prevent undesirable feelings (eg. anxiety, depression)
Ego Defenses
Ego Defenses:
Immature
- Acting Out
- Denial
- Displacement
- Dissociation
- Fixation
- Idealization
- Identification
- Intellectualization
- Isolation of Affect
- Passive Aggression
- Projection
- Rationalization
- Reaction Formation
- Regression
- Repression
- Splitting
Immature Ego Defenses:
- expressing unacceptable feelings and thoughts through actions
- A young boy throws a temper tantrum when he does not get the toy he wants.
Acting Out
Immature Ego Defenses:
- avoiding the awareness of some painful reality
- A patient with cancer plans a full-time work schedule despite being warned of significant fatigue during chemotherapy.
Denial
Immature Ego Defenses:
- redirection of emotions or impulses to a neutral person or object (vs. projection)
- A teacher is yelled at by the principal. Instead of confronting the principal directly, the teacher goes home and criticizes her husband’s dinner selection.
Displacement
Immature Ego Defenses:
- temporary, drastic change in personality, memory, consciousness, or motor behavior to avoid emotional stress
- patient has incomplete or no memory of traumatic event
- A victim of sexual abuse suddenly appears numb and detached when she is exposed to her abuser.
Dissociation
Immature Ego Defenses:
- partially remaining at a more childish level of development (vs. regression)
- A surgeon throws a tantrum in the operating room because the last case ran very late.
Fixation
Immature Ego Defenses:
- expressing extremely positive thoughts of self and others while ignoring negative thoughts
- A patient boasts about his physician and his accomplishments while ignoring any flaws.
Idealization
Immature Ego Defenses:
- largely unconscious assumption of the characteristics, qualities, or traits of another person or group
- A resident starts putting his stethoscope in his pocket like his favorite attending, instead of wearing it around his neck like before.
Identification
Immature Ego Defenses:
- using facts and logic to emotionally distance oneself from a stressful situation
- In a therapy session, patient diagnosed with cancer focuses only on rates of survival.
Intellectualization
Immature Ego Defenses:
- separating feelings from ideas and events
- Describing murder in graphic detail with no emotional response.
Isolation of Affect
Immature Ego Defenses:
- demonstrating hostile feelings in a nonconfrontational manner
- showing indirect opposition
- Disgruntled employee is repeatedly late to work, but won’t admit it is a way to get back at the manager.
Passive Aggression
Immature Ego Defenses:
- atributing an unacceptable internal impulse to an external source (vs. displacement)
- A man who wants to cheat on his wife accuses his wife of being unfaithful.
Projection
Immature Ego Defenses:
- proclaiming logical reasons for actions actually performed for other reasons, usually to avoid self-blame
- After getting fired, claiming that the job was not important anyway.
Rationalization
Immature Ego Defenses:
- replacing a warded-off idea or feeling with an (unconsciously derived) emphasis on its opposite (vs. sublimation)
- A patient with lustful thoughts enters a monastery.
Reaction Formation
Immature Ego Defenses:
- involuntarily turning back the maturational clock and going back to earlier modes of dealing with the world (vs. fixation)
- Seen in children under stress such as illness, punishment, or birth of a new sibling (eg. bedwetting in a previously toilet-trained child).
Regression
Immature Ego Defenses:
- involuntarily withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness (vs. suppression)
- A 20-year-old does not remember going to counseling during his parents’ divorce 10 years earlier.
Repression
Immature Ego Defenses:
- believing that people are either all good or all bad at different times due to intolerance of ambiguity
- commonly seen in borderline personality disorder
- A patient says that all the nurses are cold and insensitive but that the doctors are warm and friendly.
Splitting
Ego Defenses:
Mature
Mature adults wear a SASH.
- Sublimation
- Altruism
- Suppression
- Humor
Mature Ego Defenses:
- replacing an unacceptable wish with a course of action that is similar to the wish but socially acceptable (vs. reaction formation)
- Teenager’s aggressive urges toward his parents’ high expectations are channeled into excelling in sports.
Sublimation
Mature Ego Defenses:
- alleviating negative feelings via unsolicited generosity, which provides gratification (vs. reaction formation)
- Mafia boss makes large donation to charity.
Altruism
Mature Ego Defenses:
- intentionally withholding an idea or feeling from conscious awareness (vs. repression)
- temporary
- Choosing to not worry about the big game until it is time to play.
Suppression
Mature Ego Defenses:
- appreciating the amusing nature of an anxietyprovoking or adverse situation
- Nervous medical student jokes about the boards.
Humor
Infant Deprivation Effects
- Long-term deprivation of affection results in:
- failure to thrive
- poor language/socialization skills
- lack of basic trust
- reactive attachment disorder (infant withdrawn/unresponsive to comfort)
- disinhibited social engagement (infant indiscriminately attaches to strangers)
- Deprivation for > 6 months can lead to irreversible changes.
- Severe deprivation can result in infant death.
Child Abuse:
Physical Abuse
- Fractures (eg. ribs, long bone spiral, multiple in different stages of healing), bruises (eg. trunk, ear, neck; in pattern of implement), burns (eg. cigarette, buttocks/thighs), subdural hematomas/retinal hemorrhages (“shaken baby syndrome”).
- During exam, children often avoid eye contact.
- Red flags include history inconsistent with degree or type of injury (eg. 2-month-old rolling out of bed or falling down stairs), delayed medical care, caregiver story changes with retelling.
- Abuser is usually the biological mother.
- 40% of deaths related to child abuse or neglect occur in children < 1 year old.
Child Abuse:
Sexual Abuse
- genital, anal, or oral trauma
- STIs
- UTIs
- Abuser is known to victim and is usually male.
- Peak incidence is 9–12 years old.
Psychopathology:
- failure to provide a child with adequate food, shelter, supervision, education, and/or affection
- mmost common form of child maltreatment
- presents with poor hygiene, malnutrition, withdrawal, impaired social/emotional development, and failure to thrive
- must be reported to local child protective services
Child Neglect
Psychopathology:
- parents perceive the child as especially susceptible to illness or injury
- usually follows a serious illness or life-threatening event
- can result in missed school or overuse of medical services
Vulnerable Child Syndrome
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- onset before age 12
- at least 6 months of limited attention span and/or poor impulse control
- characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, and/or inattention in multiple settings (school, home, places of worship, etc)
- normal intelligence, but commonly coexists with difficulties in school
- often persists into adulthood
- Treatment:
- stimulants (eg. methylphenidate) +/– cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- alternatives include Atomoxetine, Guanfacine, and Clonidine
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- characterized by poor social interactions, social communication deficits, repetitive/ritualized behaviors, restricted interests
- must present in early childhood
- may be accompanied by intellectual disability
- rarely accompanied by unusual abilities (savants)
- more common in boys
- associated with ↑ head/brain size
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- repetitive and pervasive behavior violating the basic rights of others or societal norms (eg. aggression to people and animals, destruction of property, theft)
- after age 18
- often reclassified as antisocial personality disorder
- treated with psychotherapy such as CBT
Conduct Disorder
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- onset before age 10
- severe and recurrent temper outbursts out of proportion to situation
- child is constantly angry and irritable between outbursts
- Treatment:
- Stimulants
- Antipsychotics
- CBT
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- enduring pattern of hostile, defiant behavior toward authority figures in the absence of serious violations of social norms
- Treatment:
- psychotherapy such as CBT
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- overwhelming fear of separation from home or attachment figure lasting ≥ 4 weeks
- can be normal behavior up to age 3–4
- may lead to factitious physical complaints to avoid school
- Treatment:
- CBT
- Play Therapy
- Family Therapy
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Childhood and Early-Onset Disorders:
- onset before age 18
- characterized by sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor and vocal tics that persist for > 1 year
- coprolalia (involuntary obscene speech) found in only 40% of patients
- associated with OCD and ADHD
- Treatment:
- Psychoeducation
- Behavioral Therapy
- for intractable and distressing tics, high-potency antipsychotics (eg. Haloperidol, Fluphenazine), Tetrabenazine, α2-Agonists (eg. Guanfacine, Clonidine), or atypical antipsychotics may be used
Tourette Syndrome
Orientation
- patient’s ability to know who he or she is, where he or she is, and the date and time
- Common Causes of Loss of Orientation:
- alcohol
- drugs
- fluid/electrolyte imbalance
- head trauma
- hypoglycemia
- infection
- nutritiona deficiencies
- hypoxi
- Order of Loss: time → place → person
Amnesias:
inability to remember things that occurred before a CNS insult
Retrograde Amnesia
Amnesias:
inability to remember things that occurred after a CNS insult (↓ acquisition of new memory)
Anterograde Amnesia
Amnesias:
- amnesia (anterograde > retrograde) caused by vitamin B1 deficiency and associated destruction of mammillary bodies
- seen in alcoholics as a late neuropsychiatric manifestation of Wernicke encephalopathy
- confabulations are characteristic
Korsakoff Syndrome
Dissociative Disorders:
- persistent feelings of detachment or estrangement from one’s own body, thoughts, perceptions, and actions (depersonalization) or one’s environment (derealization)
- intact reality testing (vs. psychosis)
Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
Dissociative Disorders:
inability to recall important personal information, usually subsequent to severe trauma or stress
Dissociative Amnesia
Dissociative Disorders:
- formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder
- presence of 2 or more distinct identities or personality states
- more common in women
- associated with history of sexual abuse, PTSD, depression, substance abuse, borderline personality, somatoform conditions
- may be accompanied by dissociative fugue (abrupt travel or wandering associated with traumatic circumstances)
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Psychopathology:
- “waxing and waning” level of consciousness with acute onset
- rapid ↓ in attention span and level of arousal
- characterized by disorganized thinking, hallucinations (often visual), illusions, misperceptions, disturbance in sleepwake cycle, cognitive dysfunction, agitation.
- usually 2° to other illness (eg. CNS disease, infection, trauma, substance abuse/withdrawal, metabolic/electrolyte disturbances, hemorrhage, urinary/fecal retention)
- most common presentation of altered mental status in inpatient setting, especially in the intensive care unit and with prolonged hospital stays
- EEG may show diffuse slowing
- treatment is aimed at identifying and addressing underlying condition
- use antipsychotics acutely as needed
- avoid Benzodiazepines
- may be caused by medications (eg. anticholinergics), especially in the elderly
- reversible.
Delirium
Psychopathology:
- distorted perception of reality characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and/or disorganized thought/speech
- can occur in patients with medical illness, psychiatric illness, or both
Psychosis
Psychosis:
- unique, false, fixed, idiosyncratic beliefs that persist despite the facts and are not typical of a patient’s culture or religion (eg. thinking aliens are communicating with you)
- types include erotomanic, grandiose, jealous, persecutory, somatic, mixed, and unspecified
Delusions
Psychosis:
speech may be incoherent (“word salad”), tangential, or derailed (“loose associations”)
Disorganized Thought
Psychosis:
- perceptions in the absence of external stimuli (eg. seeing a light that is not actually present)
- contrast with illusions, misperceptions of real external stimuli
Hallucinations
Types of Hallucinations
- Visual—more commonly a feature of medical illness (eg. drug intoxication) than psychiatric illness
- Auditory—more commonly a feature of psychiatric illness (eg. schizophrenia) than medical illness
- Olfactory—often occur as an aura of temporal lobe epilepsy (eg. burning rubber) and in brain tumors
- Gustatory—rare, but seen in epilepsy
- Tactile—common in alcohol withdrawal and stimulant use (eg. cocaine, amphetamines), delusional parasitosis, “cocaine crawlies”
- Hypnagogic—occurs while going to sleep, sometimes seen in narcolepsy
- Hypnopompic—occurs while waking from sleep (“pompous upon awakening”), sometimes seen in narcolepsy
Psychopathology:
- chronic mental disorder with periods of psychosis, disturbed behavior and thought, and decline in functioning lasting ≥ 6 months (including prodrome and residual symptoms)
- associated with ↑ dopaminergic activity, ↓ dendritic branching
- frequent cannabis use is associated with psychosis in teens
- Lifetime Prevalence
- 1.5% males > females
- African Americans = Caucasians
- presents earlier in men (late teens to early 20s vs. late 20s to early 30s in women)
- patients at ↑ risk for suicide
- ventriculomegaly on brain imaging
- Diagnosis requires ≥ 2 of the following symptoms for ≥ 1 month, and at least 1 of these should include #1–3 (first 4 are “positive symptoms”):
- Delusions
- Hallucinations—often auditory
- Disorganized Speech
- Disorganized or Catatonic Behavior
- Negative Symptoms (affective flattening, avolition, anhedonia, asociality, alogia)
- Treatment:
- Atypical Antipsychotics (eg. Risperidone) are first line
- negative symptoms often persist after treatment, despite resolution of positive symptoms
*
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia:
- ≥ 1 positive symptom(s) lasting < 1 month
- usually stress related
Brief Psychotic Disorder
Schizophrenia:
- ≥ 2 symptoms
- lasting 1–6 months
Schizophreniform Disorder
Schizophrenia:
- meets criteria for Schizophrenia in addition to major mood disorder (major depressive or bipolar)
- to differentiate from a major mood disorder with psychotic features, patient must have > 2 weeks of psychotic symptoms without major mood episode
Schizoaffective Disorder
Psychopathology:
- fixed, persistent, false belief system lasting > 1 month
- functioning otherwise not impaired (eg. a woman who genuinely believes she is married to a celebrity when, in fact, she is not)
- can be shared by individuals in close relationships (folie à deux)
Delusional Disorder
Psychopathology:
- characterized by an abnormal range of moods or internal emotional states and loss of control over them
- severity of moods causes distress and impairment in social and occupational functioning
- includes major depressive, bipolar, dysthymic, and cyclothymic disorders
- episodic superimposed psychotic features (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech/behavior) may be present
Mood Disorder
Psychopathology:
- distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently ↑ activity or energy lasting ≥ 1 week
- often disturbing to patient and causes marked functional impairment and oftentimes hospitalization
- Diagnosis requires hospitalization or at least 3 of the following:
- Distractibility
- Impulsivity/Indiscretion—seeks pleasure without regard to consequences (hedonistic)
- Grandiosity—inflated self-esteem
- Flight of Ideas—racing thoughts
- ↑ Goal-Directed Activity/Psychomotor Agitation
- ↓ Need for Sleep
- Talkativeness or Pressured Speech
Manic Episode
Manics DIG FAST:
- Distractibility
- Impulsivity/Indiscretion
- Grandiosity
- Flight of Ideas
- ↑ Goal-Directed Activity/Psychomotor Agitation
- ↓ Need for Sleep
- Talkativeness or Pressured Speech
Psychopathology:
- similar to a manic episode except mood disturbance is not severe enough to cause marked impairment in social and/or occupational functioning or to necessitate hospitalization
- no psychotic features
- lasts ≥ 4 consecutive days
Hypomanic Episode
Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression)
- Bipolar I—defined by presence of at least 1 manic episode +/− a hypomanic or depressive episode (may be separated by any length of time)
- Bipolar II—defined by presence of a hypomanic and a depressive episode (no history of manic episodes)
- Patient’s mood and functioning usually normalize between episodes.
- Use of antidepressants can destabilize mood.
- High suicide risk.
- Treatment:
- Mood Stabilizers (eg. Lithium, Valproic Acid, Carbamazepine, Lamotrigine)
- Atypical Antipsychotics
Psychopathology:
- milder form of bipolar disorder lasting ≥ 2 years
- fluctuating between mild depressive and hypomanic symptoms
Cyclothymic Disorder
Psychopathology:
- episodes characterized by at least 5 of the 9 diagnostic symptoms lasting ≥ 2 weeks (symptoms must include patient-reported depressed mood or anhedonia)
- screen for history of manic episodes to rule out bipolar disorder
- Diagnostic Symptoms:
- Depressed Mood
- Sleep Disturbance
- Loss of Interest (Anhedonia)
- Guilt or Feelings of Worthlessness
- Energy Loss and Fatigue
- Concentration Problems
- Appetite/Weight Changes
- Psychomotor Retardation or Agitation
- Suicidal Ideations
- Patients with depression typically have the following changes in their sleep stages:
- ↓ slow-wave sleep
- ↓ REM latency
- ↑ REM early in sleep cycle
- ↑ total REM sleep
- repeated nighttime awakenings
- early-morning awakening (terminal insomnia)
- Treatment:
- CBT and SSRIs are first line.
- SNRIs, Mirtazapine, and Bupropion can also be considered.
- Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in treatment-resistant patients.
Major Depressive Disorder
SIG E CAPS:
- Sleep Disturbance
- Loss of Interest (Anhedonia)
- Guilt or Feelings of Worthlessness
- Energy Loss and Fatigue
- Concentration Problems
- Appetite/Weight Changes
- Psychomotor Retardation or Agitation
- Suicidal Ideations
Major Depressive Disorder:
- often milder
- ≥ 2 depressive symptoms lasting ≥ 2 years with no more than 2 months without depressive symptoms
Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)
Major Depressive Disorder:
- formerly known as Seasonal Affective Disorder
- lasting ≥ 2 years with ≥ 2 major depressive episodes associated with seasonal pattern (usually winter) and absence of nonseasonal depressive episodes
- atypical symptoms common (eg. hypersomnia, hyperphagia, leaden paralysis)
MDD with Seasonal Pattern
Psychopathology:
- characterized by mood reactivity (able to experience improved mood in response to positive events, albeit briefly)
- “reversed” vegetative symptoms (hypersomnia, hyperphagia), leaden paralysis (heavy feeling in arms and legs), long-standing interpersonal rejection sensitivity
- most common subtype of depression
- Treatment:
- CBT and SSRIs are first line.
- MAO inhibitors are effective but not first line because of their risk profile.
Depression with Atypical Features
Psychopathology:
onset during pregnancy or within 4 weeks of delivery
Postpartum Mood Disturbances
Postpartum Mood Disturbances:
- 50–85% incidence rate
- characterized by depressed affect, tearfulness, and fatigue starting 2–3 days after delivery
- usually resolves within 10 days
- Treatment: supportive
- follow up to assess for possible postpartum depression
Maternal (Postpartum) Blues
Postpartum Mood Disturbances:
- 10–15% incidence rate
- characterized by depressed affect, anxiety, and poor concentration for ≥ 2 weeks
- Treatment: CBT and SSRIs are first line
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum Mood Disturbances:
- 0.1–0.2% incidence rate
- characterized by mood-congruent delusions, hallucinations, and thoughts of harming the baby or self
- risk factors include history of bipolar or psychotic disorder, first pregnancy, family history, recent discontinuation of psychotropic medication
- Treatment:
- hospitalization and initiation of atypical antipsychotic
- if insufficient, ECT may be used
Postpartum Psychosis
Grief
- The five stages of grief per the Kübler-Ross model are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance (may occur in any order).
- Other normal grief symptoms include Shock, Guilt, Sadness, Anxiety, Yearning, and Somatic symptoms that usually occur in waves.
- Simple hallucinations of the deceased person are common (eg. hearing the deceased speaking).
- Any thoughts of dying are limited to joining the deceased (vs. pathological grief).
- Duration varies widely; usually within 6–12 months.
- Pathologic grief is persistent, causes functional impairment, and can meet criteria for major depressive episode.
Psychotherapy:
- rapid-acting method to treat resistant or refractory depression, depression with psychotic symptoms, and acute suicidality
- induces grand mal seizure while patient anesthetized
- adverse effects include disorientation, temporary headache, partial anterograde/retrograde amnesia usually resolving in 6 months
- no absolute contraindications
- safe in pregnant and elderly individuals
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Suicide
- Most common method in US is firearms; access to guns ↑ risk of suicide completion.
- Women try more often; men complete more often.
- Family history of completed suicide is another well-known risk factor.
Risk Factors for Suicide Completion
SAD PERSONS are more likely to complete suicide.
- Sex (male)
- Age (young adult or elderly)
- Depression
- Previous attempt (highest risk factor)
- Ethanol or drug use
- Rational thinking loss (psychosis)
- Sickness (medical illness)
- Organized plan
- No spouse or other social support
- Stated future intent
Psychopathology:
- inappropriate experience of fear/worry and its physical manifestations (anxiety) incongruent with the magnitude of the perceived stressor
- symptoms interfere with daily functioning and are not attributable to another mental disorder, medical condition, or substance abuse
- includes panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and selective mutism
- Treatment:
- CBT
- SSRIs
- SNRIs
Anxiety Disorder