Abstract
Background:
Schizo phreni form dis or der (SFD) has an un clear di ag nos tic and prog nos tic status within the psy chotic spec trum.
Method:
We stud ied 36 in pa tients ad mit ted to our ward be tween 1983 and 1993 due to SFD. The pa tients were con tacted an av er age of 12 years af ter in dex hos pi tali za tion, and we noted the course of their ill ness, as well as their pres ent di ag no sis.
Results:
Of the sam ple, 84% had ad di tional, mostly psy chotic, epi sodes dur ing the follow-up, and 70% had di ag no ses in the schizo phrenic spec trum (that is, schizo phre nia and schizoaf fec tive dis or der). A sur vival analy sis re vealed that con fu sion and the pres ence of at least 2 good prog nos tic fac tors (GPF) at in dex hos pi tali za tion pre dicted bet ter out come.
Conclusions:
SFD seems to be an early mani fes ta tion of schizo phre nia. Only a few of those sam pled did not ex pe ri ence ad di tional re lapses—a pes si mis tic find ing at 12-year follow- up. The find ings of this study ac cord with DSM- IV cri te ria and the lit era ture regard ing the long- term prog no sis of SFD and the im por tance of the GPF.