schizoaffective disorder vs brief psychotic disorder

[afrothunderman1]

schizoaffective disorder vs brief psychotic disorder

Please explain to me how you differentiate between the two when answers questions. Any clues or busswords. I checked first aid but I am still having trouble with such questions.

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[afrothunderman1]

What are you supposed to do when you get a case that seems to fit under both categories. thats why I need help with this

 

[J ROD]

The first cardinal decision-making guideline in the DSM-5 diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, according to the DSM-5 workgroup, is that
when psychotic symptoms occur during a mood episode of depression, mania, hypomania, or mixed episode, the DSM-5 indicates that the diagnosis must be either psychotic depression or psychotic bipolar disorder.[2] Only when a psychotic condition lasts two-weeks continuously or longer without mood symptoms, is the diagnosis either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.[2]
The second cardinal guideline in the DSM-5 diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder is one of timeframe.
DSM-5 requires two episodes of psychosis (whereas DSM-IV needed only one) to qualify for the schizoaffective disorder diagnosis.[2] As such, it is no longer an "episode diagnosis."[2] The new schizoaffective framework looks at the time from "the [first episode of] psychosis up to the current episode [of psychosis], rather than only defining a single episode with [co-occurring] psychotic and mood syndromes."[2] Specifically, one of the episodes of psychosis must last a minimum of two weeks without mood disorder symptoms, but the person may be mildly to moderately depressed while psychotic.[2] The other period of psychosis "requires the overlap of mood [disorder] symptoms with psychotic symptoms to be conspicuous" and last for a greater portion of the disorder

 

[J ROD]

SA you usually have another thing going on like depression or bipolar. Above you can see a full description of it. Brief is just that and psychotic.

 

[tantacles]

For the purpose of Step I, if you see that someone has psychotic symptoms and then LATER has a mood disorder superimposed on those symptoms, it's schizoaffective disorder. The psychotic symptoms must exist SEPARATELY from the mood disorder.

If you see someone who has psychotic symptoms ONLY when their mood is altered, it's a mood disorder.

If you see someone who has psychotic symptoms and no mood disorder indicated, it's schizophrenia.

If they have the symptoms of a mood disorder, like depression or bipolar I, it ALMOST ALWAYS RULES OUT SCHIZOPHRENIA in terms of Step 1.

 

[notbobtrustme]

brief -> <1 month
schizoaffective -> schizo + mood disorder

 

[afrothunderman1]

Thanks! Very helpful

 

[afrothunderman1]

For the purpose of Step I, if you see that someone has psychotic symptoms and then LATER has a mood disorder superimposed on those symptoms, it's schizoaffective disorder. The psychotic symptoms must exist SEPARATELY from the mood disorder.

If you see someone who has psychotic symptoms ONLY when their mood is altered, it's a mood disorder.

If you see someone who has psychotic symptoms and no mood disorder indicated, it's schizophrenia.

If they have the symptoms of a mood disorder, like depression or bipolar I, it ALMOST ALWAYS RULES OUT SCHIZOPHRENIA in terms of Step 1.

Your explanation helped make things very clear.
I wanted to ask you one more thing. Since Absence of mood symptoms classifies Schizophrenia, would all the subcategories of Schizophrenia(brief psychotic, schizophrniform, schizophrenia) also have absence of mood symptoms?

 

[tantacles]

Your explanation helped make things very clear.
I wanted to ask you one more thing. Since Absence of mood symptoms classifies Schizophrenia, would all the subcategories of Schizophrenia(brief psychotic, schizophrniform, schizophrenia) also have absence of mood symptoms?

Yes.

 

[tantacles]

Your explanation helped make things very clear.
I wanted to ask you one more thing. Since Absence of mood symptoms classifies Schizophrenia, would all the subcategories of Schizophrenia(brief psychotic, schizophrniform, schizophrenia) also have absence of mood symptoms?

Just to be clear, when we say mood symptoms, I mean symptoms of a mood disorder. Symptoms like emotional blunting and flat affect are negative symptoms of schizophrenia and can be excluded from the "mood" criteria for mood disorder and schizoaffective disorder.

 

[Doctor T]

Thanks doctors for your explanation!

 

[Wavy Doctor]

Read an explanation about schizoaffective disorder in Uworld and got a bit confused after referencing FA. Maybe someone here can help me.

Schizoaffective disorder

• Psychosis with or without mood disorder episodes
• Over total illness >2 weeks of psychosis without mood symptoms

• Mood symptoms present for majority of total illness
• Mood disorder is present only with psychosis (according to FA)

Major depressive or bipolar disorder with psychotic features

• Psychosis only during mood episodes

What if a patient has fits the first 3 criteria for schizoaffective disorder but has an episode of mood symptoms without psychosis? Going by FA then the diagnosis wouldn't be SA but it couldn't be major depressive or bipolar disorder either...what would the diagnosis be then?

really spent way too much time right now thinking about what is likely a pedantic low yield fact...