
- Vol 38, Issue 8
Diagnosing and Treating Psychotic Disorders in Late Life
Most psychotic disorders appear in adolescents or young adults, but some also occur during later life. Here's how to recognize and treat them.
Although psychosis often emerges relatively early in life, it can also appear for the first time in older patients. These cases raise special challenges. The morbidity and mortality rates for psychosis in late life are
Primary and Secondary Disorders
In identifying psychotic disorders in late life, a
The term secondary psychotic disorders refers to illnesses in which psychosis is the secondary or associated symptom, not the core clinical feature of the disorder. Examples of secondary psychotic disorders including delirium, neurocognitive disorders, psychosis due to drugs of abuse or prescribed medications, or psychosis due to medical or
Diagnosis
A thorough history, including information from collateral sources, can help
Features suggestive of a secondary psychotic disorder include an atypical age of onset of symptoms, visual hallucinations presenting independently of auditory hallucinations, the occurrence of psychotic symptoms in an individual with no previous psychiatric history or no family history, the presence of abnormal findings on physical examinations, or evidence of the use of prescribed medications or abuse of illicit substances.7 The
Exploring Treatment Strategies
For secondary psychotic disorders, the
Among older adults who have MDD with psychotic features, the combination of olanzapine and sertraline was associated with higher remission rates during the treatment period when compared with treatment with olanzapine or placebo, with
A meta-analysis that evaluated the prevention and treatment of delirium among surgical and medical patients found that antipsychotics had
Antipsychotic medications should be discontinued as soon as clinically possible to avoid serious adverse effects among older adults.19,21 However, there are limited data regarding discontinuation, especially among individuals with schizophrenia.23 It would be prudent to attempt discontinuation of antipsychotics among older adults only when 1 or more of the following 3 conditions have been met: (1) the patient has not adequately responded to these medications; (2) the medications have resulted in intolerable adverse effects; or (3) the individual has demonstrated long-standing clinical remission. Decreasing the dose of medications to the lowest effective dosage should be attempted when discontinuation of these medications is not feasible due to persistent psychotic symptoms.
Bilateral electroconvulsive therapy has been found to be a safe and effective treatment for older patients with schizophrenia, in conjunction with antipsychotic medications, especially among those individuals who present with catatonia, aggression, or acute suicidal states, or when there is an
Available data indicate
describes further treatments for psychotic disorders arising in late life.
Concluding Thoughts
Most cases of psychotic disorders in late life likely occur due to underlying medical or neurological illnesses and/or due to the effects of medications or illicit drugs. The differentiation of primary and secondary causes can be accomplished via a thorough history, a comprehensive mental status examination, a focused physical examination, appropriate laboratory data or imaging studies, and a formal neuropsychological assessment for difficult-to-diagnose cases.
The use of antipsychotic medications among older adults is fraught with risks given these drugs’ significant adverse effect profile, including the increased risk of death among individuals with dementia. It is recommended that antipsychotic medications be used among older adults at the lowest effective doses and for the shortest time period.
The early identification and prompt removal or treatment of secondary causes of psychosis will reduce undue suffering among vulnerable older adults. Psychosocial treatments have been found to be effective in the treatment of primary psychotic disorders among older individuals. Future studies should focus on the risk factors, neurobiology, and treatment of psychotic disorders in late life, so that we better understand and treat these varied group of disorders.
Dr Tampi is professor and chairman, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, and Chief, Section for Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Cleveland Clinic.
References
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Medication Decisions for Women of Childbearing Potentialabout 4 years ago
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Fibromyalgia: What It Is and How to Treat Itabout 4 years ago
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