what do you have to always consider with psych diagnosis
medical dx or drugs
History of Present Illness
- how to ask questions
OLDCARTS
May help to start when the patient last felt well
Something that occurred just prior to that
Important to allow patient uninterrupted time to elaborate
Strengthens alliance with the patient
Important to describe any treatments the patient has had for the problem, if any
Review of Systems
-sleep, fatigue, hair loss, etc.
also psych - ROS
MAPS
Mood
Anxiety
Psychosis
Substances
QS- depression; mania
-lost interest things you used to enjoy
- trouble getting out of bed
- sleep changes
- feeling down
Depression – has there been a time when you have struggled with low mood or a time when you just weren’t able to enjoy anything and weren’t really interested in doing anything
Mania – have you ever experienced the opposite feeling of depression where your mood was unusually good or had a mood that was uncharacteristically irritable, and you seemed to have real excess of energy
Examples – on top of world, not sleeping for multiple days and constantly busy, buying all types of things
true mania
-longer than a week
Anxiety- ROS
Anxiety – do you have a significant prblem with worry, panic, or anxiety being around others
ros
Obsessions and compulsions
-intrusive thoughts
do you ever have times when you have intrusive thoughts that you can’t stop thinking about even though you want to?
*how about certain actions that you feel the urge to do even though you don’t want to
ROS
PTSD
PTSD – have you had something traumatic happen to you in the past that still effects you these days
Psychosis
ROS
*have you ever had a time when you have heard or have seen things that others don’t notice
*have you had ideas or fears that others find unusual or unlikely
paranoid
Substances
ros
Substances – type, duration, route, amount, pattern of use, effects
+ marijuana
infection from injection site; withdrawl
Past History
Current diagnoses, medications, allergies/adverse reactions
Previous psychiatric hospitalizations
Total
Reasons for admission
Suicide attempts
Previous treatments and outcomes
Medications
ECT, TMS
Therapy–
TMS = transcranial magnetic stimulation
Importance of gaining current diagnoses
*Psychiatric disorders affecting medical illnesses
*Psychiatric treatment affecting medical illnesses
*Medical illnesses affecting psychiatric disorders
*Medical treatment affecting psychiatric disorders
*Medical conditions presenting with psychiatric symptoms
Family History- psych
Mental illness history
First degree relatives tend to be the most important
Treatments and outcomes
Suicides in family
Social History
5 psych
Childhood
Education
Relationships
Occupation
Leisure
have to affect more than 1 place and time
what is the MSE
Essential part of the psychiatric interview
Gathered from start to end of the patient visit
Majority of elements are gathered throughout the interview and no specifically asked
Provides a “snapshot” of the patient at that time
Mental Status ExamGeneral Elements
8
General: Level of consciousness, patient appearance, behavior
Motor activity
Mood and Affect
Speech
Thought Processing
Thought Content (includes perceptual disturbances)
Cognitive Functioning
Insight and Judgement– poor insight not taking meds if in extreme mania
Mental Status ExamGeneral
Level of Consciousness
Alert, Drowsy
Note if fluctuating
Appearance
Dress, hygiene
Behavior
Note any unusual or repetitive behaviors, eye contact, level of cooperativeness, behavior of other attendants in the room
* ** note culturally may be different
Motor Activity
MSE
mood vs affect
Mood
Subjective report of internal emotional state
Does not always have to be asked directly
Affect
External evidence of mood
May comment on intensity, range, and stability
Mood- subjective and then compare to what you see – does it match
*can report in patient’s own words – great, I’ve been better, just fine, horrible, nervous, etc.
Affect Examples
-Sad, occasionally tearful, restricted
-Very angry, labile affect
-Very restricted, sad affect
-Discouraged, able to smile and laugh in response to humor however
-Anxious and fearful
-Elevated, almost giddy
-Flat
Mental Status Exam- speech
Speech
Amount
Volume
Rate
Other qualities
tangential speech- tangets, left field
word salad- no substance
Circumstantial – takes an extended amount of time but eventually gets to the point (full of commas and parentheses)
Tangential – speech is organized and may begin answering the question but begins to go off topic and never returns
Flight of Ideas – thoughts and ideas are connected but there are rapid shifts in topic. Usually accompanied by more rapid speech
Loose associations – structure of each idea is maintained but not really connected to one another in a meaningful way
Word salad – words are intact but syntax is lost. Meaningless speech
Thought Processing
Mental Status Exam
Clear and Logical
Circumstantial
Tangential
Flight of Ideas
Loose associations
Word Salad
Circumstantial – takes an extended amount of time but eventually gets to the point (full of commas and parentheses)
Tangential – speech is organized and may begin answering the question but begins to go off topic and never returns
Flight of Ideas – thoughts and ideas are connected but there are rapid shifts in topic. Usually accompanied by more rapid speech
Loose associations – structure of each idea is maintained but not really connected to one another in a meaningful way
Word salad – words are intact but syntax is lost. Meaningless speech
Mental Status Exam
Thought Content
Assessed actively & passively
Thoughts of suicide or homicide
Perceptual disturbances
Delusions
Obsessions
Mental Status Exam
Cognitive Functioning
Determination of orientation, attention, estimated intelligence, memory
More specific testing may be indicated based on general findings
Mental Status Exam
Attention
Must have sufficient level of consciousness before attention can be reasonably tested
Attention – asking patient to spell a five-letter word backwards, serial sevens, months of year backwards to june as examples
Mental Status Exam
Memory
Orientation – memory & awareness
Short term memory
3 item recall after a period of at least 2 minutes
Avoid using 3 tangible objectives
Long term memory
Recall of remote personal events and general cultural knowledge
Mental Status Exam
Intelligence and insight
Estimated by patient’s response to questions and spontaneous speech
Takes into account understanding of questions, speed and complexity of responses, vocabulary
Must take into account the level of schooling an individual has received
Insight & Judgement
Best determined by history gathered from the patient