Hallucinations in nonpsychotic children: findings from a psychiatric emergency service.
Sixty-two cases of children with hallucinations but without psychosis were identified in a psychiatric emergency service. Auditory hallucinations were more frequent than visual ones. There were positive trends between the content of auditory hallucinations and diagnosis. Recognition of this clinical phenomenon of hallucinations in children in the absence of psychosis and awareness of underlying psychopathology and precipitating factors is necessary in evaluating hallucinations in nonpsychotic children. Children with such presentations run the risk of being misdiagnosed as having psychosis or schizophrenia and being subjected to the inherent risks of treatment with antipsychotics.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Thomas Jefferson University, 833 Chestnut Street, Suite 210-D, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. Gail.Edelsohn@mail.tju.edu
Gail A
GA
Edelsohn
Harris
H
Rabinovich
Ruben
R
Portnoy
D000293:Adolescent; D001364:Awareness; D002648:Child; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male