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The psychotic patient.
D M Hilty1, R F Lim, R E Hales
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California, 95817, USA. dmhilty@ucdavis.edu
Primary Care
|May 11, 1999
Summary
Primary care physicians increasingly manage patients with psychotic symptoms. This guide offers a diagnostic and treatment approach, emphasizing the exclusion of medical, substance, and mood disorders before diagnosing psychotic disorders.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Primary Care Medicine
Background:
- Psychotic disorders are less common than mood and anxiety disorders in primary care but cause significant patient suffering.
- Primary care physicians face growing responsibility for managing patients with psychotic symptoms within managed care systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline a diagnostic and treatment strategy for primary care practitioners managing patients presenting with psychotic symptoms.
- To guide physicians in differentiating primary psychotic disorders from symptoms with medical, substance-induced, or mood-related origins.
Main Methods:
- Review of diagnostic criteria and treatment guidelines relevant to primary care settings.
- Emphasis on differential diagnosis to rule out organic and mood-related causes of psychosis.
Main Results:
- Psychotic symptoms necessitate a thorough differential diagnosis in primary care.
- Exclusion of medical, substance, and mood disorders is crucial before diagnosing a primary psychotic disorder.
Conclusions:
- Primary care settings require a structured approach to diagnose and manage patients with psychotic symptoms.
- Early identification and appropriate management in primary care can improve patient outcomes and reduce suffering.