Pseudodementia and physical findings masking significant psychopathology.
In a study of 53 medical-surgical patients who were in extended care and were consecutively referred for psychiatric evaluation, 7 (13%) of the patients had been considered to have unequivocal dementia, yet 3 of them (6% of the total or 43% of those considered demented) were found to have a false-dementing psychiatric disorder. Physical findings contributed to masking the psychopathology, which included psychotic depression with the Ganser symptom in 2 patients and hysterical pseudodementia with depression in 1 patient. Criteria that have been recommended to differentiate pseudodementia from dementia could lead to misdiagnosis in the type of case described, which suggests the need for a typology of depressive pseudodementia.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003221:Confusion / Q000175:diagnosis; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005162:Factitious Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007046:Hysteria / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged