Psychosis And Schizophrenia Flashcards
How is psychosis defined?
A mental state in which reality is greatly distorted which typically presents with delusions, hallucinations, thought disorder
What are some non-organic causes of psychosis?
Schizophrenia, schizotypical disorder, schizoaffective disorder, acute psychotic episode, delusional disorder, secondary to mania/depression
What are some organic causes of schizophrenia?
Drug induced, iatrogenic, delirium, dementia, endocrine and metabolic disturbances, post-partum psychosis
What is late paraphrenia?
Late onset schizophrenia where hallucinations and delusions are prominent but thought disorders and catatonia are rare
When does post-partum psychosis occur?
Within the first 2 weeks following birth
What is schizophrenia?
A psychotic condition characterised by hallucinations, delusions and thought disorders which lead to functional impairment.
It occurs in the absence of organic disease, alcohol or drug-related disorders and not secondary to elevation or depression of mood
What are some biological risk factors for schizophrenia?
Family history, obstetric complications, young age, smoking cannabis or using psychostimulants
What are the positive symptoms seen in schizophrenia? (Delusions Held Firmly Think Psychosis)
Delusions, hallucinations, formal thought disorder, thought interference, passivity phenomena
What is a delusion?
A fixed false belief which is firmly healed despite evidence to the contrary and goes against their normal social and cultural belief system
What are schneider’s first rank symptoms for schizophrenia?
Delusional perception, 3rd person auditory hallucinations, thought interference (withdrawal, insertion, broadcast)
What are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia? (AAAAAA)
Avolition, asocial behaviour, anhedonia, alogia, blunted affect, attention defecits
What are the different classifications of schizophrenia according to ICD-10?
Paranoid (positive symptoms dominate)- most common
Postschizophrenic depression (depression predominates with schizophrenic episode in last 12 months with some symptoms still present)
Hebephrenic (thought disorganisation predominates)
Catatonic
Simple (negative symptoms without psychotic)
Undifferentiated
Residual
What are poor prognostic factors for schizophrenia?
Strong family history, gradual onset, low IQ, premorbid history of social withdrawal, no obvious precipitant
What biological treatment is used for schizophrenia?
Antipsychotics- atypical are 1st line, depot considered if poor compliance, clozapine after 2 others havent responded
Adjuvants- lithium and antidepressant can augment antipsychotics, benzodiazepines can be used for short term relief of insomnia, agitation
ECT- for those resistant to pharmacological agents or catatonic schizophrenia
What are psychological therapies used in schizophrenia?
CBT- reduces residual symptoms
Family therapy- psychoeducation helps families reduce high levels of expressed emotion which in turn reduces relapse rates
Art therapy- alleviates negative symptoms
