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'Schizophrenia postdrome': a study of low-level psychotic experience after remission of first-episode schizophrenia
Kate Burley1, Rachel Upthegrove, Max Birchwood
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. kate.burley@doctors.org.uk
Background:
Despite remission being the primary objective following the first episode of schizophrenia, clinically stabilized patients nevertheless relapse.
Aim:
To assess the extent and fluctuation of low-level psychotic symptoms in patients who are in remission after first-episode schizophrenia and consider whether this is equivalent to symptomatology experienced by those at 'ultra high risk' (UHR) of developing first-episode psychosis.
Methods:
We examined the phenomenological characteristics of 11 patients who fulfilled international remission criteria using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms and compared this cohort with an UHR sample.
Results:
Remitted patients were experiencing attenuated positive symptoms (73%) and brief limited intermittent psychotic symptoms (18%), features that were similarly prevalent in the UHR group. There was no significant fluctuation in these low-level symptoms over the course of four interviews.
Conclusions:
Although further research is required in this novel field, such features could form the building blocks for better prediction of psychotic relapse.
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