Bmc Psychiatry
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Schizophrenia is a significantly disabling disease that affects all major areas of life. There is a lack of comprehensive synthesis of research findings on the full extent of psychosocial difficulties (PSDs) experienced by people living with schizophrenia. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature concerning PSDs and their associated factors in schizophrenia. PSDs were conceptualized in accordance with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as disabilities, in particular impairments of mental functions, activity limitations and participation restrictions. ⋯ The present review illustrates the remarkably broad scope and diversity of psychosocial areas affected in schizophrenia and shows how these areas are interconnected and how they interact with contextual factors. The need for a shift in focus of schizophrenia research is suggested--from an excessive reliance on global measures of psychopathology and disability for defining outcomes to the creation of profiles of specific PSDs that have a more direct bearing on the disabling experience and real-world functioning of patients and can serve to guide interventions and monitoring over time.
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Review Case Reports
Clinical features of delirious mania: a series of five cases and a brief literature review.
Little is known about the cause and psychopathology of delirious mania, a type of disorder where delirium and mania occur at the same time. This condition still has no formal diagnostic classification. To provide more information about this potentially life-threatening condition, we studied five patients with delirious mania. ⋯ Delirious mania is a potentially life-threatening but under-recognized neuropsychiatric syndrome. Delirious mania that is ineffectively treated may induce a new-onset manic episode or worsen an ongoing manic episode, and the patient will need prolonged hospitalization. Delirious mania also has a close relationship with catatonia. Early recognition and aggressive treatment, especially with electroconvulsive therapy, can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality.