Abstract
Some factors were studied which influence corticoid-induced phosphaturias in the schizophrenic and the non-schizophrenic psychiatric patient. It was our aim to use the phenomenon of corticoid induced phosphaturia as a diagnostic aid in schizophrenia. ACTH induced phosphaturia does not differentiate between schizophrenics and non-schizophrenics. Cortisone induces a much more marked phosphaturia in both groups without, however, differentiating any better. Neither increasing cortisone dosage nor increasing the urine collection time will enhance the diagnostic specificity of the induced phosphaturia. It was possible however to obtain a significant difference between a group of schizophrenics and a group of non-schizophrenic psychiatric patients by repeating the cortisone stimulation over three days and comparing the means of the sums of each group.