Schizoaffective disorder

Background

Clinical Features

  • A. An uninterrupted period of illness during which there is a major mood episode (major depressive or manic) concurrent with Criterion A of schizophrenia.[1]
  • B. Delusions or hallucinations for 2 or more weeks in the absence of a major mood epi­sode (depressive or manic) during the lifetime duration of the illness.
  • C. Symptoms that meet criteria for a major mood episode are present for the majority of the total duration of the active and residual portions of the illness.
  • D. The disturbance is not attributable to the effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.

Differential Diagnosis

Psychiatric Disorders with Psychotic Symptoms

Organic Causes

Evaluation

  • Rule out other organic causes including substance abuse, medication effect or other medical conditions.
  • Consider emergency psychiatric evaluation (e.g. safety assessment) in addition to medical evaluation.

General ED Psychiatric Workup

Management

General ED Psychiatric Management

Disposition

  • Home with outpatient psychiatric services if stable, versus inpatient psychiatric admission if unstable

See Also

External Links

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.