Current Concepts: Diagnosis and Early Management of Acute Psychosis

If the patient has an active support system of family and friends, a stable place to live, and a rapid response to medication, outpatient treatment is sometimes possible. The goal of initial treatment is to reduce or eliminate the cardinal features of psychosis without producing unnecessary or unacc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe New England journal of medicine Vol. 305; no. 19; p. 1128
Main Authors Anderson, William H, Kuehnle, John C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston Massachusetts Medical Society 05.11.1981
Subjects
Anesthesia
Anticonvulsants
Antipsychotics
Bipolar disorder
Chemotherapy
Consciousness
Delirium
Drug dosages
Hospitals
Illnesses
Medical diagnosis
Patients
Psychiatry
Psychosis
Psychotropic drugs
Schizophrenia
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Summary:If the patient has an active support system of family and friends, a stable place to live, and a rapid response to medication, outpatient treatment is sometimes possible. The goal of initial treatment is to reduce or eliminate the cardinal features of psychosis without producing unnecessary or unacceptable side effects. The intramuscular route gives a more rapid and reliable blood level and clinical response and also permits a better initial estimate of the optimal dosage. In manic-depressive illness, lithium carbonate may be more effective than antipsychotics and cause fewer complications; in a psychosis with complex partial seizures, anticonvulsants such as carbamazepine may be useful.
ISSN:0028-4793
1533-4406
DOI:10.1056/NEJM198111053051905