The Basel early-detection-of-psychosis (FEPSY)-study--design and preliminary results.
Early detection and therapy of schizophrenic psychoses have become broadly accepted aims in psychiatry, recently even in very early stages of the disorder when clear diagnostic criteria are not yet fulfilled. However, reliable and widely applicable methods do not yet exist. This study aims at contributing to the improvement of the early assessment of psychosis.


METHODS
Individuals potentially at risk are identified by a newly developed stepwise screening procedure. Identified subjects are then examined extensively and followed-up for at least 5 years to detect actual transition to psychosis.


RESULTS
Of 50 subjects who have been followed up for 1-5 years by now, 16 have progressed to frank psychosis, 12 of them during the first 12 months of follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
At this stage, our approach seems to be promising for the early detection of psychosis. Further results from this ongoing study will hopefully permit us to optimize the assessment procedure.
Riecher-Rössler
A
A
Psychiatric Outpatient Department, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4-6, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland. ariecher@uhbs.ch
Gschwandtner
U
U
Aston
J
J
Borgwardt
S
S
Drewe
M
M
Fuhr
P
P
Pflüger
M
M
Radü
W
W
Schindler
Ch
Ch
Stieglitz
R-D
RD
D000328:Adult; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors