Unconventional Wisdom: Organic Reasons for Psychosis – Do we need to make sure that we don’t miss the question “is there anything physically/organically wrong with you”?

The Madness Of King George

I am on a bit of a mission at the moment trying to encourage people across Powys to explore whether the important question we need to be asking is:  

“Should mental health services be shaped by the question what happened to you rather than what’s wrong with you?”

In May 2012, Eleanor Longden spoke at an event we ran and raised this question. This year we are running another free conference on Thursday 19th September at which Jacqui Dillon will help us explore this question further.

We are by no means the only ones debating this.  In fact, it seems that this question is resonating with may others and fuelling a debate across the world around the validity of mental illness diagnosis.  You can access some of this debate on twitter @powysmh.  

Whilst I for one am very interested in the impact that asking this question may have, I also wish to raise the need for caution.

In our drive to ensure that people are asked "what has happened to you" within health services, do we need to make sure that we don't miss the question “is there anything physically/organically wrong with you”? 

Psychotic symptoms (e.g. hallucinations, delusions, disturbed and confused thoughts), for instance, can be caused by illnesses, diseases and physical health conditions.  On the NHS Choices website there is a page that lists the medical conditions that have been known to trigger psychotic episodes.  These include Malaria, Syphilis, Azheimer's disease, Hypoglycaemia, Lupus, brain tumour and Lyme disease. But, this does not seem to be a complete list. I have also come across other organic causes that were not listed there.  B12 Deficiency, Porphyria, Wilson’s Disease, cerebrovascular disease can be found elsewhere on their site citing psychosis as one of the symptoms of these conditions . 

These organic/physical causes produce symptoms of psychosis for a number of reasons, for example abnormal enzyme production, brain damage, tumours, chemical element poisoning, abnormal hormone action, abnormal blood supply to the brain and vitamin deficiencies.  There are physical investigations and tests that can be done to determine whether someone is suffering from these conditions.
 
When someone first seeks help, or finds “help” thrust upon them, for psychotic symptoms, what investigations will occur to determine whether there is a organic/physical/biological cause?  

Diagnosed with syphillis

For adults, the Map Of Medicine Pathway based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) medical guidelines states that if someone presents to them with suspected schizophrenia, then doctors need to determine whether or not there are any physical/organic explanations for their symptoms.  

Worryingly, I think, the recently published (Jan 13) NICE guidelines for psychosis and schizophrenia in children and young people, does not seem to indicate that psychotic symptoms can have organic causes.  I could not find anything in the guidance, the supporting care pathway or the information for the public that indicated that psychotic symptoms could have organic causes.  I have to admit that I might be missing something, the guidance is very long, so I will be contacting NICE to ask.

Can psychotic symptoms be misdiagnosed as "mental illness" when they are actually caused by organic/physical conditions? 

Unfortunately it seems the answer to this is yes.  It is not difficult to find examples of misdiagnosis, where psychotic symptoms that have an organic/physical/medical explanation have led to people being given a mental illness diagnosis.  There has also been scientific work  that highlights where organic disease has been incorrectly diagnosed as mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia).     

How often can psychotic symptoms be attributed to organic/physical/medical explanation? 

I am not sure that we really have the information that would enable us to get to a definitive answer, I have found figures that range widely, from 5% through to 30%.   

So over to you. Can you help me answer these questions?  Are they questions worth asking?  Tell me what you think ... 

• Should mental health services be shaped by the question what happened to you rather than what’s wrong with you?
• In our drive to ensure that people are asked "what has happened to you" within health services, do we need to make sure that we don't miss the question “is there anything physically/organically wrong with you”?
• When someone first seeks help, or finds “help” thrust upon them, for psychotic symptoms, what investigations will occur to determine whether there is a organic/physical/biological cause?
• Can psychotic symptoms be misdiagnosed as "mental illness" when they are actually caused by organic/physical conditions?
• How often can psychotic symptoms be attributed to organic/physical/medical explanations?