scholarly journals Aggressive incidents in first-episode psychosis

2001 ◽  
Vol 178 (5) ◽  
pp. 433-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Milton ◽  
Shazad Amin ◽  
Swaran P. Singh ◽  
Glynn Harrison ◽  
Peter Jones ◽  
...  

BackgroundRecent research has reported increased risk of aggressive incidents by individuals with psychotic illness.AimsTo examine acts of aggression in first-episode psychosis.MethodSubjects with a first-episode psychosis were ascertained from a defined catchment area (Nottingham, UK) and reassessed at 3 years (n=166) using clinical interview, informants, health care and forensic records.ResultsOf the subjects, 9.6% demonstrated at least one act of serious aggression (defined as weapon use, sexual assault or victim injury) during at least one psychotic episode and 23.5% demonstrated lesser acts of aggression (defined as all other acts of aggression). For all aggressive subjects (33.1%), unemployment (OR=3.6, 95%CI 1.6–8.0), comorbid substance misuse (OR=3.1, CI 1.1–8.8) and symptoms of overactivity at service contact (OR=6.9, CI 2.7–17.8) had independent effects on risk of aggression.ConclusionsWe confirmed some previously reported demographic and clinical associations with aggression in first-episode psychosis but no relationship with specific psychotic symptoms or diagnostic groups was observed.

2001 ◽  
Vol 178 (6) ◽  
pp. 518-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attila Sipos ◽  
Glynn Harrison ◽  
David Gunnell ◽  
Shazad Amin ◽  
Swaran P. Singh

BackgroundLittle is known about predictors of hospitalisation in patients with first-episode psychosis.AimsTo identify the pattern and predictors of hospitalisation of patients with a first psychotic episode making their first contact with specialist services.MethodThree-year follow-up of a cohort of 166 patients with a first episode of psychosis making contact with psychiatric services in Nottingham between June 1992 and May 1994.ResultsEighty-eight (53.0%) patients were admitted within 1 week of presentation; 32 (19.3%) were never admitted during the 3 years of follow-up. Manic symptoms at presentation were associated with an increased risk of rapid admission and an increased overall risk of admission; negative symptoms and a longer duration of untreated illness had an increased risk of late admission.ConclusionsCommunity-oriented psychiatric services might only delay, rather than prevent, admission of patients with predominantly negative symptoms and a longer duration of untreated illness. First-episode studies based upon first admissions are likely to be subject to selection biases, which may limit their representativeness.


2007 ◽  
Vol 190 (6) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer H. Barnett ◽  
Ursula Werners ◽  
Sandra M. Secher ◽  
Katherine E. Hill ◽  
Rossa Brazil ◽  
...  

BackgroundSubstance use is implicated in the cause and course of psychosis.AimsTo characterise substance and alcohol use in an epidemiologically representative treatment sample of people experiencing a first psychotic episode in south Cambridgeshire.MethodCurrent and lifetime substance use was recorded for 123 consecutive referrals to a specialist early intervention service. Substance use was compared with general population prevalence estimates from the British Crime Survey.ResultsSubstance use among people with first-episode psychosis was twice that of the general population and was more common in men than women. Cannabis abuse was reported in 51% of patients (n=62) and alcohol abuse in 43% (n=53). More than half (n=68, 55%) had used Class A drugs, and 38% (n=43) reported polysubstance abuse. Age at first use of cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine was significantly associated with age at first psychotic symptom.ConclusionsSubstance misuse is present in the majority of people with first-episode psychosis and has major implications for management. The association between age at first substance use and first psychotic symptoms has public health implications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
B.D. Karki ◽  
D. Joshi ◽  
A.P. Adhikari

Introduction: First episode psychosis refers to the first time someone experiences psychotic symptoms or a psychotic episode. There are evidences related to the role of major life events and childhood trauma in the development of first episode psychosis. There are few studies regarding the environmental exposure to stressful life events and how these events might influence the onset of a psychotic disorder, and role of perceived stress. This study aimed to identify the relationship between stressful life events and first episode psychosis in Nepalese context. Material And Method: It was a hospital based cross-sectional, descriptive study. A total of 50 cases of first episode psychosis were included and the diagnosis was made according to ICD 10- Diagnostic Criteria for Research and verified by two consultant psychiatrists. Semi Structured Performa was designed to collect the information about the socio demographic data and perceived stress was assessed with Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale (PSLES). Results: There were 62% female and 38% male patients with first episode psychosis with mean age 26.32 years. Majority of the participants were from rural areas (94%), married (58%), educated up to primary level (38%) and housewife (40%). 60.7% of ATPD had stressful life events (P =0. 000)which was higher than the stressful life events in patient with Schizophrenia (P =0. 005). There was a positive correlation between stressful life events and gender, setting, socioeconomic status and Diagnosis (P <0.05). Conclusion: Results show the relevance of presence of stressful life events as a potent source of perceived stress in first episode psychosis sample. Therefore this study highlights the importance of psychosocial intervention in this vulnerable group for management of illness and might be an important strategy for prevention.


1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 587-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison R. Yung ◽  
Patrick D. McGorry

Objective: This study aimed to describe in detail, using a retrospective approach, the prodromal symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients. This initial prodrome, the period of disturbance preceding a first psychotic episode, is potentially important for early intervention, identification of biological markers, and understanding the process of becoming psychotic. Method: A consecutive series of 21 first-episode patients was recruited from the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre, a specialised service for young people aged between 16 and 30 with first-episode psychosis. Subjects were interviewed in the recovery phase after the acute episode, about the period leading up to the psychosis, using a combination of unstructured and semi-structured techniques. Results: A wide variability of phenomena and sequence patterns was found, with symptoms being a mixture of attenuated psychotic symptoms, neurotic and mood-related symptoms, and behavioural changes. Symptoms were often disabling and some, such as suicidal thoughts, potentially life-threatening. Conclusions: The findings highlight the loss of information that has resulted from disregarding early phenomenological studies of the psychotic prodrome and instead focussing on behavioural features. The ground work has been laid for the development of better methodologies for assessing and measuring first psychotic prodromes with increased emphasis on experiential phenomena. This has the potential to lead to the early recognition and more accurate prediction of subsequent psychosis, as well as a deeper understanding of the neurobiology of the onset of psychotic disorder.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 152-157
Author(s):  
A. O. Berg ◽  
K. Leopold ◽  
S. Zarafonitis-Müller ◽  
M. Nerhus ◽  
L. H. Stouten ◽  
...  

Summary Background: Immigrants have increased risk of a poor recovery from first episode psychosis (FEP). Early treatment can improve prognosis, but having an immigrant background may influence pathways to care. Method: We present research of service use and factors influencing treatment outcome in immigrants with FEP. Service use was assessed in in-patients at an early intervention center in Berlin, Germany. Duration of untreated psychosis and beliefs about illness was assessed in a FEP study in Oslo, Norway and cognitive functioning in patients with FEP schizophrenia from the regular mental health services in The Hague, the Netherlands. The proportion of immigrants in Berlin and Oslo was at level with the local populations, while the proportion in The Hague appeared to be higher. Result: There were clear indications that mental health literacy, probably based in different cultural expectations, were lower in first generation immigrants (FGI). Findings regarding clinical insight were ambiguous. There were also indications that FGI had more cognitive problems, based in higher stress levels or in cognitive styles. Early psychosis services must take issues of immigration and ethnicity into consideration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Martos ◽  
William Hall ◽  
Alicia Marhefka ◽  
Thomas W. Sedlak ◽  
Frederick C. Nucifora

Abstract Background Neutropenia, a decrease in total number of neutrophils below 1500/mm3 and particularly severe neutropenia, defined as neutrophils less than 500/mm3, is a potential adverse effect of antipsychotic medications that can lead to increased risk of infections and death. However, much of the attention on the potential adverse effect is centered exclusively on clozapine, which remains the only antipsychotic medication in the United States requiring standardized monitoring of blood work. We demonstrate here that paliperidone can also cause neutropenia and therefore clinicians should be aware of this possibility especially during initiation of treatment. Case presentation The following report presents the case of a 23-year-old African American male with first episode psychosis who developed neutropenia after initiation of paliperidone. Neutropenia resolved after discontinuation of paliperidone and initiation of an alternative antipsychotic, haloperidol. Conclusions This case report demonstrates an example of paliperidone induced neutropenia which resolved with a switch to haloperidol. We conclude that when initiating paliperidone, clinicians should be more aware of the risk of neutropenia. Moreover, neutropenia may be a more common and overlooked issue in patients on antipsychotic medications other than clozapine and increased awareness of comparative risk across antipsychotics could help direct treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. e240088
Author(s):  
Peter M Haddad ◽  
Majid Al Abdulla ◽  
Javed Latoo ◽  
Yousaf Iqbal

A 30-year-old man with no significant previous or family psychiatric history became severely anxious about his health after a positive COVID-19 test. Physical symptoms of COVID-19 were mild, with no evidence of hypoxia or pneumonia, throughout his illness. He was admitted to a quarantine facility. He remained highly anxious, and 1 week later, he developed paranoid delusions and auditory hallucinations (his first psychotic episode). He was treated with lorazepam 1 mg four times a day, mirtazapine 30 mg nocte and risperidone 1 mg two times a day. His psychotic symptoms lasted 1 week. He stopped psychiatric medication after 4 weeks and had remained well when reviewed 3 months later. A Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition diagnosis of brief psychotic disorder with marked stressor (brief reactive psychosis) was made. Anxiety about his health and social isolation appeared the main aetiological factors but an inflammatory component cannot be excluded. The case highlights that first episode psychosis can be associated with mild COVID-19.


2017 ◽  
Vol 182 ◽  
pp. 42-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regitze Sølling Wils ◽  
Ditte Resendal Gotfredsen ◽  
Carsten Hjorthøj ◽  
Stephen F. Austin ◽  
Nikolai Albert ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Dean F Salisbury ◽  
Yiming Wang ◽  
Fang-Cheng Yeh ◽  
Brian A Coffman

Abstract Background Functional connectivity abnormalities between Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas and the putamen revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are related to auditory hallucinations (AH). In long-term schizophrenia, reduced white matter structural integrity revealed by diffusion imaging in left arcuate fasciculus (connecting Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas) is likely related to AH. The structural integrity of connections with putamen and their relation to AH are unknown. Little is known about this relationship in first-episode psychosis (FEP), although auditory transcallosal connections were reported to play a role. White matter in the Broca’s-Wernicke’s-putamen language-related circuit and auditory transcallosal fibers was examined to investigate associations with AH in FEP. Methods White matter connectivity was measured in 40 FEP and 32 matched HC using generalized fractional anisotropy (gFA) derived from diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI). Results FEP and HC did not differ in gFA in any fiber bundle. In FEP, AH severity was significantly inversely related to gFA in auditory transcallosal fibers and left arcuate fasciculus. Although the right hemisphere arcuate fasciculus-AH association did not attain significance, the left and right arcuate fasciculus associations were not significantly different. Conclusions Despite overall normal gFA in FEP, AH severity was significantly related to gFA in transcallosal auditory fibers and the left hemisphere connection between Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. Other bilateral tracts’ gFA were weakly associated with AH. At the first psychotic episode, AH are more robustly associated with left hemisphere arcuate fasciculus and interhemispheric auditory fibers microstructural deficits, likely reflecting mistiming of information flow between language-related cortical centers.


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