Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: T Allen Gore, MD, MBA, CMCM, DFAPA; Chief Editor: Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK)   more...
 
Updated: Apr 25, 2012
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Acute stress disorder

Adjustment disorder

Malingering (must be excluded)

Mood disorder with psychotic features

Psychotic disorders caused by a general medical condition

Substance-induced disorders

A review of PTSD trials in refugees suggested that PTSD may be a culture-specific diagnosis.[12] Care must be taken by a health care professional when applying this diagnosis to people from non-Western cultures where the diagnosis has not been validated and standard PTSD assessments have not been adapted to express non-Western concepts of disorder and idioms of distress.

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

T Allen Gore, MD, MBA, CMCM, DFAPA  Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Howard University School of Medicine; Senior Psychiatrist and Director, Medical Education, Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, District of Columbia Department of Mental Health

T Allen Gore, MD, MBA, CMCM, DFAPA is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Managed Care Medicine, American Psychiatric Association, and National Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Joel Z Lucas, MD  Senior Medical Writer, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, Inc

Joel Z Lucas, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians, American Medical Student Association/Foundation, and Student National Medical Association

Disclosure: Johnson & Johnson Salary Employment

Specialty Editor Board

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Chief Editor

Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK)  Faculty, Department of Psychiatry, Tripler Army Medical Center; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences: Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Hawaii, John A Burns School of Medicine

Iqbal Ahmed, MBBS, FRCPsych (UK) is a member of the following medical societies: Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, American Neuropsychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and Royal College of Psychiatrists

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

The authors would like to thank all colleagues and students who contributed to this article. We are especially grateful to the following individuals:

Georgianna M Richards-Reid, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Neurology, Howard University Hospital, Howard University College of Medicine

Zachary Osborne, MD; Ross University School of Medicine

Bobbi Adams, BS; University of Alabama

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Brain structures involved in dealing with fear and stress.
 
 
 
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