Brief Psychotic Disorder Workup

Updated: Dec 09, 2020
  • Author: Mohammed A Memon, MD; Chief Editor: David Bienenfeld, MD  more...
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Workup

Approach Considerations

Specific laboratory studies for brief psychotic disorder do not exist. Comprehensive neuropsychiatric assessment, physical examination, and laboratory tests can help differentiate brief psychotic disorder from psychotic disorder secondary to general medical condition, delirium, and various other disorders. Routine and specific laboratory work may be needed to exclude other causes of psychoses.

Substance-induced psychotic disorder, substance-induced delirium, and substance intoxication can be distinguished from brief psychotic disorder by considering onset, course, urine drug screening, and blood alcohol levels.

No imaging studies are required to diagnose brief psychotic disorder. Further testing with modalities such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG) may be considered, but such studies are useful only for diagnosing possible medical causes of the psychosis.

It is important to evaluate weight, metabolic state, cardiac, sexual and neurologic functions along with hematologic health as well as periodic monitoring for changes in these areas during the treatment is recomended. [9]