Psychotic Disorders — MCQs

A 25-year-old woman is brought to a psychiatrist's office by her husband who states that he is worried about her recent behavior, as it has become more violent. The patient's husband states that his family drove across the country to visit them and that his wife 'threatened his parents with a knife' at dinner last night. Police had to be called to calm her down. He states that she has been acting 'really crazy' for the last 9 months, and the initial behavior that caused him alarm was her admission that his deceased sister was talking to her through a decorative piece of ceramic art in the living room. Initially, he thought she was joking, but soon realized her complaints of 'hearing ghosts' talking to her throughout the house were persisting and 'getting worse'. Over the past 9 months, she has experienced multiple periods of profound sadness, with persistent insomnia and an unintentional weight loss of 12 pounds over several months. She has been complaining of feeling 'worthless' and has had markedly diminished interest in activities for much of this time period. Her general hygiene has also suffered from her recent lack of motivation and she insists that the 'ghosts' are asking her to kill as many people as she can so they won't be alone in the house. Her husband is extremely concerned that she may harm herself or someone else. He states that she currently does not take any medications or illicit drugs as far as he knows. She does not smoke or drink alcohol. The patient herself does not make eye contact or want to speak to the psychiatrist, allowing her husband to speak on her behalf. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis in this patient?

A 14-year-old girl presents to her pediatrician with complaints of repeated jerking of her neck for the past 2 years. Initially, her parents considered it a sign of discomfort in her neck, but later they noticed that the jerking was more frequent when she was under emotional stress or when she was fatigued. The patient says she can voluntarily control the jerking in some social situations, but when she is under stress, she feels the urge to jerk her neck and she feels better after that. The parents also report occasional throat clearing and brief vocal sounds that seem involuntary. During the past year, there have been a few weeks when the frequency of both the neck jerking and vocal sounds decreased drastically, only to increase again afterwards. On physical examination, she is a physically healthy female with normal vital signs. Her neurologic examination is normal. The pediatrician also notes that when he makes certain movements, the patient partially imitates these movements. The parents are very concerned about her abnormal movements and insist on a complete diagnostic work-up. After a detailed history, physical examination, and laboratory investigations, the pediatrician confirms the diagnosis of Tourette syndrome. The presence of which of the following findings is most likely to confirm the pediatrician's diagnosis?

An 83-year-old man is being seen in the hospital for confusion. The patient was admitted 4 days ago for pneumonia. He has been improving on ceftriaxone and azithromycin. Then 2 nights ago he had an episode of confusion. He was unsure where he was and attempted to leave. He was calmed down by nurses with redirection. He had a chest radiograph that was stable from admission, a normal EKG, and a normal urinalysis. This morning he was alert and oriented. Then this evening he became confused and agitated again. The patient has a history of benign prostatic hyperplasia, severe dementia, and osteoarthritis. He takes tamsulosin in addition to the newly started antibiotics. Upon physical examination, the patient is alert but orientated only to name. He tries to get up, falls back onto the bed, and grabs his right knee. He states, “I need to get to work. My boss is waiting, but my knee hurts.” He tries to walk again, threatens the nurse who stops him, and throws a plate at the wall. In addition to reorientation, which of the following is the next best step in management?

A 21-year-old male college student is brought to the emergency department by the campus police after he was found yelling at a bookshelf in the library. His roommate does not know of any prior episodes similar to this. His vital signs are within normal limits. The patient appears unkempt. On mental status examination, he talks very fast with occasional abrupt interruptions. He is agitated. He is disoriented to time and repeatedly tells the physician, “I hear the sun telling me that I was chosen to save the universe.” Urine toxicology screen is negative. Which of the following is the most appropriate pharmacotherapy?

A 17-year-old boy is brought to the physician by his parents who are concerned about his bizarre behavior. Over the past three months, he has become withdrawn from his friends and less interested in his classes and extracurricular activities. On several occasions, he has torn apart rooms in their home looking for “bugs” and states that the President is spying on him because aliens have told the government that he is a threat. Although he has always been quite clean in the past, his father notes that the patient’s room is now malodorous with clothes and dishes strewn about haphazardly. He also says that sometimes he can hear the devil speaking to him from inside his head. He has no medical problems, does not drink alcohol or use any drugs. Physical examination of the boy reveals no abnormalities. On mental status examination, the boy is oriented to person, place and time. He avoids eye contact and replies mostly with monosyllabic responses. He appears distracted, and confirms that he is hearing whispering voices in his head. What is the most appropriate diagnosis for this patient?

A 26-year-old man is brought to the emergency department by his wife because of bizarre and agitated behavior for the last 6 weeks. He thinks that the NSA is spying on him and controlling his mind. His wife reports that the patient has become withdrawn and at times depressed for the past 3 months. He lost his job because he stopped going to work 4 weeks ago. Since then, he has been working on an invention that will block people from being able to control his mind. Physical and neurologic examinations show no abnormalities. On mental status examination, he is confused and suspicious with marked psychomotor agitation. His speech is disorganized and his affect is labile. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A 42-year-old woman is brought to the physician by her husband because of a 1-year history of abnormal behavior. During this time she has been irritable, restless, and has had multiple episodes of hearing voices. Over the past month, she has also had difficulty swallowing. She has a 2-year history of depression. She was let go by her employer 6 months ago because she could no longer handle all her tasks and often forgot about assignments. Her father committed suicide at the age of 50. The patient has smoked one pack of cigarettes daily over the past 20 years. She has a history of smoking cocaine for 8 years but stopped 1 year ago. Vital signs are within normal limits. On mental status examination, she is confused and oriented to person and place only. Neurologic examination shows a delayed return to neutral ankle position after triggering the plantar reflex. Physical examination shows irregular, nonrepetitive, and arrhythmic movements of the neck and head. The patient has poor articulation. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A 60-year-old man presents to the emergency department with a rapid change in his behavior. The patient recently returned from a vacation in rural Mexico and recovered from several episodes of bloody diarrhea. He has had a notable and rapid decline in his memory which started this morning. His personality has also changed, has not been sleeping, and seems generally apathetic. Brief and involuntary muscle twitches have been noted as well. The patient has a past medical history of hypertension and diabetes. His temperature is 99.8°F (37.7°C), blood pressure is 152/98 mmHg, pulse is 97/min, respirations are 14/min, and oxygen saturation is 99% on room air. Physical exam is notable for a confused and apathetic man who is not compliant with the neurological exam. The patient is admitted to the ICU; however, during his hospital course, the patient ultimately dies. Which of the following was most likely to be found in this patient upon initial presentation?

A 22-year-old man is brought to the physician by his mother because of concerns about his recent behavior. Three months ago, the patient first reported hearing loud voices coming from the ceiling of his room. During this time, he has also become increasingly worried that visitors to the house were placing secret surveillance cameras. Mental status examination shows tangential speech with paranoid thoughts. Treatment for this patient's condition predominantly targets which of the following dopaminergic pathways?

A 34-year-old man presents to the behavioral health clinic for an evaluation after seeing animal-shaped clouds in the form of dogs, cats, and monkeys. The patient says that these symptoms have been present for more than 2 weeks. Past medical history is significant for simple partial seizures for which he takes valproate, but he has not had his medication adjusted in several years. His vital signs include: blood pressure of 124/76 mm Hg, heart rate of 98/min, respiratory rate of 12/min, and temperature of 37.1°C (98.8°F). On physical examination, the patient is alert and oriented to person, time, and place. Affect is not constricted or flat. Speech is of rapid rate and high volume. Pupils are equal and reactive bilaterally. The results of a urine drug screen are as follows: Alcohol positive Amphetamine negative Benzodiazepine negative Cocaine positive GHB negative Ketamine negative LSD negative Marijuana negative Opioids negative PCP negative Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis in this patient?