A schizoaffective disorder is characterized by: A. Mood ...

[bobthebuilder]

A schizoaffective disorder is characterized by:
 
  A. Mood component coexisting with the schizophrenic symptoms
  B. Thought disorder that comes and goes
  C. Psychotic disorder with substance abuse
  D. Schizophrenia with auditory and visual hallucinations

Question 2

To diagnose a patient with binge eating, a binge is defined as occurring at least:
 
  A. Once a week for 3 months.
  B. Twice a week for 6 months
  C. Three times a week for 3 months
  D. None of the above

[bulacsom]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
In schizophrenia, psychotic features are evident with two or more of the following characteristics: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and negative symptoms. The last of these characteristics, negative symptoms, refers to affective flattening, poverty of speech, avolition, anhedonia, and social isolation. Schizophrenia subtypes include paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Differential diagnoses include schizophreniform disorder, characterized by schizophrenic symptoms of 1 to 6 months; schizoaffective disorder, characterized by a prominent mood component coexisting with the schizophrenic symptoms; delusional disorder, characterized by at least 1 month of no bizarre delusions without an active phase of symptoms of schizophrenia; brief psychotic disorder, characterized by symptoms that last more than 1 day but remit by 1 month; and substance-induced psychotic disorder, characterized by symptoms directly related to an abused substance, toxin, or medication.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: A
Binge eating is often done alone, is not associated with hunger, and is done to the point of feeling uncomfortable. The minimum average frequency of binge eating required for diagnosis is once weekly over the past 3 months (compared to at least twice weekly for 6 months in DSM-IV). Patients present as overweight with marked distress associated with the binge episodes.