[First Episode Psychosis: Relationship of Symptoms, Initial Treatment and Clinical Response]

It was aimed to explore the relationship of clinical psychopathology and treatment response with "duration of untreated psychosis" (DUP) and "duration of untreated illness"(DUI) in 15-20 years old (mean age: 17,34 ± 1.69) inpatients in Turkey.

Mood disorders with psyhotic features were grouped as affective psychoses (18 patients, mean age: 17,28 ± 1,75); schizophrenia, schiozophreniform disorder and other psychotic disorders were grouped as non-affective psychoses (25 patients, mean age: 17,38 ± 1,68). 43 patiens (11 females, 32 males) were evaluated for acute treatment response with Positive and Negative Scale-PANSS and Clinical Global Impressions Scale-CGI.

Mean DUP was determined as 6,5 ± 12,4 weeks, mean DUI was determined as 37,8 ± 49,8 weeks. For the affective psychosis (AP) group; mean DUP was 1,9 ± 1,2 weeks, mean DUI was 24,6 ± 37,1 weeks, for the non-affective psychosis (NAP) group; mean DUP was 9,8 ± 15,5 weeks, mean DUI was 47,3 ± 55,9 weeks. Treatment response was better for the non-affective psychosis group and for the patients who had earlier access to treatment. Shorter DUP and DUI was related with better PANSS negative symptom severity at the time of the discharge.

Better treatment response related with shorter DUP and DUI reveals the significance of early treatment for the disease prognosis.