conditions Flashcards
What is an organic illness
Conditions with demonstrable aetiology in CNS pathology
Causes of organic disorders
- substance misuse
- trauma
- inflammation
- degeneration
- infection
- metabolic
Examples of organic disorders
- Delirium
- Dementia
- Lobe syndrome
- Endocrine causes
List some organic causes of diseases
- Neurological
- Endocrine
- Metabolic
- SLE
- Medication
- Drug abuse
- Toxins
Neurological causes of psychosis
- epilepsy
- head injury
- brain tumour
- dementia
Endocrine causes of psychosis
- hyper/hypothyroidism
- cushing’s
- hyperparathyroidism
- addison’s disease
Metabolic causes of psychosis
- uraemia
- sodium imbalance
- porphyria (inherited blood disorder related to a build up in chemicals related to red blood cell proteins
Medications that can cause psychosis
- steroids
- L-dopa
- INH (isoniazid)
- anticholinergics
- antihypertensives
- anticonvulsants
- ritalin
Elicit drugs that can cause psychosis
- cocaine
- LSD
- cannabis
- PCP
- amphetamines
- opioids
Schizophrenia definition
Schizophrenia is the most common form of psychosis. It is a lifelong condition, which can take on either a chronic form or a form with relapsing and remitting episodes of acute illness
Schizophrenia epidemiology
Men are at higher risk of all psychotic disorders, ethnic minorities are at a higher risk of all psychotic disorders
Most commonly develops in adolescence and early 20s
Schizophrenia aetiology
multifactorial - genetic - environmental - social Short-lived illnesses similar to paranoid schizophrenia are associated with cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis
Schizophrenia risk factors
- family history
- intrauterine and perinatal complications eg. premature birth and low birth weight
- intrauterine infection
- abnormal early cognitive/neuromuscular development
- social isolation
- abnormal family interactions eg. hostile or overly critical
Schizophrenia presentation
First rank/positive symptoms
- delusions
- hallucinations
- thought disorder
- lack of insight
Chronic/negative symptoms
- underactivity
- low motivation
- social withdrawal
- emotional flattening
- self-neglect
Appearance and behaviour in schizophrenia
- withdrawal
- suspicion
- stereotypical behaviours eg. repetition of purposeless movements
- mannerisms eg. saluting
Speech in schizophrenia
- interruptions to the flow of thought
- loosening of associations
- loss of normal thought structure
Mood and affect in schizophrenia
- flattened
- incongruous or odd
Abnormal beliefs in schizophrenia
- hallucinations especially auditory
Cognition in schizophrenia
should assess attention, concentration, orientation and memory. Significant impairment suggests delirium or severe dementia
Schizophrenia differential diagnosis
- drug induced psychosis: amphetamine, LSD, cannabis
- temporal lobe epilepsy
- encephalitis
- dementia
- mania
- psychotic depression
- some personality disorders
Schizophrenia investigations
- LFTs and FBC for alcohol abuse
- serological tests for syphilis and AIDs screening
- urine screen for drugs of abuse
Schizophrenia management
Initial
- early assessment and engagement including assessment of social circumstances and involvement of family where possible
- early intervention is important
- antipsychotics can be prescribed. an atypical antipsychotic is normally used
MDT support in schizophrenia
combination of inpatient and outpatient care, hospital consultant, community psychiatric nurses, GPs, crisis support, daycare, home treatment teams, social workers, voluntary organisations and involvement of carers.
Psychological support for schizophrenia
- information and education
- voluntary organisations and support groups
information and support for carer - information and support for carers
- specialist “family interventions in psychosis” teams
- family therapy
- CBT
- art therapy