Acute and Transient Psychotic disorder and Schizophrenia: on a continuum or distinct? A study of phenomenology

Abstract

Background: The overview of epidemiology of Acute and Transient Psychotic disorder (ATPD) shows that it is wrong to assume that acute and transient psychotic disorder is somehow rudimentary or attenuated form of schizophrenia. Aims and Objective: This explorative study was designed to ascertain if there are any phenomenological differences between ATPD and cases of First Episode Schizophrenia (FES). Materials and Methods: A total of 60 patients (30 patients with ATPD and 30 FES patients) were enrolled. Illness-related variables were rated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) at the time of first encounter and the frequencies of occurrence of various symptoms were compared between the two groups. Result: The two disorders appear to be different on the basis of phenomenology as affective symptoms and symptoms pertaining to increased PMA were found more frequently in the ATPD group, whereas, all the typical schizophrenic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized behavior, speech and negative symptoms) were found to be more in the patients with FES.