Misdiagnosis and therapeutic impasse in psychiatry

INTRODUCTION: We frequently receive patients with atypical psychiatric symptoms admitted in our department after consulting other psychiatrists and triying several treatments. OBJECTIVES: To highlight the factors of misdiagnosis in patients of our department. METHODS: We recruited 70 patients during their appointment or during their hospital admission in our department between March and April 2021. We collected the patients’ socio-demographic and clinical data using a pre-designed questionnaire. RESULTS: Patients were aged between 17 and 68 years with a sex ratio (M/F) of 1. Mood disorders accounted for 24.6% of disorders (N=17) whereas schizophrenia 66.7% (N=46). Patients resided in urban areas in 88.6% of cases (N=69). The average number of hospitalizations was 2.7 with extremes ranging from 0 to 14. The average time between the onset of the symptoms and the first consultation was 1 year. The mean time from onset to hospitalization was 4.37 years. The rate of consulting a psychiatrist prior to admission was 42.8%. The diagnosis was corrected during the follow-up of the patients in 24.3% of cases. Conventional neuroleptics were prescribed as first-line treatment in 42.85% of cases. Due to poor tolerance or ineffectiveness of the treatment, 31.42% of patients had to change treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients, who were desperate to find an adequate treatment for their disorders, put a lot of hope in the Razi psychiatric hospital. But after several years of evolution of their disease, we are faced with a therapeutic impasse. Raising awareness of mental illnesses is necessary for an early and adequate treatment. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships.