psychiatric disorders
Brief Psychotic Disorder
Introduction
Brief psychotic disorder consists of delusions, hallucinations, or other psychotic symptoms for at least 1 day but<1 month, with eventual return to normal premorbid functioning. Brief psychotic disorder is uncommon. Preexisting Overview of Personality Disorders (eg, paranoid, histrionic, narcissistic, schizotypal, borderline), as well as certain medical conditions (eg, systemic lupus, steroid ingestion), predispose to its development. A major stressor, such as loss of a loved one, may precipitate the disorder. Patients with the disorder manifest at least one psychotic symptom for<1 month: Delusions Hallucinations Disorganized speech Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior Brief psychotic disorder is not diagnosed if a psychotic mood disorder, a Schizoaffective Disorder , schizophrenia, a physical disorder, or an Differentiating between brief psychotic disorder and Schizophrenia in a patient without any prior psychotic symptoms is based on duration of symptoms; if the duration exceeds 1 month, the patient no longer meets required diagnostic criteria for brief psychotic disorder. Treatment of brief psychotic disorder is similar to Treatment ; supervision and short-term treatment with Relapse is common, but patients typically function well between episodes and have few or no symptoms. (See also Introduction to Schizophrenia and Related Disorders .) 