Acute psychotic disorder: Which future?

Abstract

Introduction

At present, in absence of reliable clinical and evolutionary data, it is difficult to determine what the consequences of an acute psychotic disorder, specifically if it is a mode of entry into schizophrenia, a mood disorder or a short-lived episode.

Aim

The objective of this study was to describe the sociodemographic characteristics and evolutionary modalities of a population of patients with a first psychotic episode.

Methods

This is a retrospective descriptive study, which involved patients admitted to psychiatric ward EPS Mahdia for acute psychotic disorder according to DSM-VI-TR criteria. Data collection was conducted from archived observations and through a predetermined sheet.

Results

One hundred and eleven patients were collected. The average age of the study population was 27 years, a male predominance was noted (59.5%), 52.3% were from urban, 73% of patients were single, 33.3% were from a consanguineous marriage. Among those patients with a first acute psychotic episode, 43 patients (38.7%) progressed to schizophrenia, 15.3% to bipolar disorder, 23, 4% to recovery while 22.5% were lost view.

Conclusion

The long-term evolution of an acute psychotic disorder remains unpredictable. In fact, the severity is related primarily to the risk of developing a schizophrenic disorder or a mood disorder. In this context, attention is paid in recent years to recognize and seek the earliest possible factors associated with this development.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.