Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite remission being the primary objective following the first episode of schizophrenia, clinically stabilized patients nevertheless relapse.
AIM: To assess the extent and fluctuation of low-level psychotic symptoms in patients who are in remission after first-episode schizophrenia and consider whether this is equivalent to symptomatology experienced by those at 'ultra high risk' (UHR) of developing first-episode psychosis.
METHODS: We examined the phenomenological characteristics of 11 patients who fulfilled international remission criteria using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms and compared this cohort with an UHR sample.
RESULTS: Remitted patients were experiencing attenuated positive symptoms (73%) and brief limited intermittent psychotic symptoms (18%), features that were similarly prevalent in the UHR group. There was no significant fluctuation in these low-level symptoms over the course of four interviews.
CONCLUSIONS: Although further research is required in this novel field, such features could form the building blocks for better prediction of psychotic relapse.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 296-9 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Early Intervention in Psychiatry |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2009 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Cohort Studies
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data
- Psychotic Disorders/complications
- Remission Induction
- Schizophrenia/complications
- Schizophrenic Psychology