see also: [[Agitation]], [[Delirium vs psychosis]], [[Medical Clearance of psych patients#screening for underlying causes "organic screen"]]
# Classification
| disorder | definition |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| brief psychotic disorder | > 1 day - < 1 month<br>may be drug-related |
| schizophreniform | 1 - 6 months |
| schizophrenia | > 6 months; 60% of all psychosis |
| schizoaffective | > 2 weeks of psychosis without predominant mood symptoms<br>- psychotic features w/ either major depressive episode, manic episode, or a mixed episode |
| bipolar affective disorder w/ psychotic features | |
| delusional disorder | > 1 month of non-bizarre delusions w/o active-phase sx of schizophrenia |
| post-partum psychosis | within 6 weeks of delivery |
| psychosis a/w medical illness | - CNS pathology<br>- [[Encephalopathy\|Encephalitis]]<br>- metabolic derangements<br>- usually a/w [[Delirium vs psychosis\|delirium]] |
| drug-induced psychosis | - amphetamines<br>- cannabis<br>- LSD |
# Schizophrenia
- delusions
- hallucinations
- disorganised speech
- disorganised or catatonic behaviour
- *negative symptoms*
- lack of motivation
- poor self-care
- blunted affected
- reduced speech output
- social withdrawl
- things pt feels have been "taken away" from them
- impaired cognitive f(x) common (eg impaired planning, mental flexibility, memory, and insight)
## Assessment
- organic vs psychiatric cause
- EtOH and drug abuse 75% lifetime risk for schizophrenia
- complications of IVDU
- high rates of smoking and COPD
- complications of antipsychotic tx
- anticholinergic side effects
- orthostatic hypotension from alpha-blocking
- serotonin tox
- acute dystonia
- parkinsonian symptoms
- clozapine sx:
- cardiomyopathy
- neutropenia
- diabetes common
- socioeconomic crisis due to schizophrenia (poverty, homelessness, social isolation, failure of support systems)
- neglected/disshevelled
- mannerisms -- repeated urposeful movements out of context , tics
- restless, agitated, or psychomotor retardation
- response to auditory hallucinations
## Thought disorder
- loosening of associations -- absence of logical thought progression
- may give concrete answers
- **thought blocking** -- sudden cessation of thought or speech
- **tangental** -- getting off track of the subject and failiing to return
- **circumstantial** -- digressive but able to return to subject
- **neologisms** -- use of words that only have meaning to the person using them, independent of their common meaning
others:
- *perseveration*
- *echolalia* -- repetition of statements used in the presence
- *verbigeration* -- repetition of words or phrases
Thought content:
- thought insertion or withdrawl
- delusions (often bizarre or paranoid)
emotions:
- inappropriate affect
- emotional blunting
*hallucinations*
- occur in clear consciousness
- not related to actual occurrences
- auditory (75%) more common than visual
# Drug-induced psychosis vs schizophrena
#tables
| features | drug-induced | schizophrenia |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| onset | sudden | slow |
| age | in 20s | late teens |
| duration | usually < 1 week | > 6 months |
| Hx mental illness? | may be absent | may be first episode of psychosis |
| agitation / violence | common | less common |
| auditory hallucinations | rare | common |
| paranoia | very common | common |
| delusions | uncommon, variable | common, variable |
| affect | appropriate to beliefs | blunted, inappropriate |
| thought blocking and perseveration | rare | common |