title: [Prospective description of the course of psychopathological symptoms in schizophrenia: evaluation of the short form of the Eppendorf Schizophrenia Inventory].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Eppendorf Schizophrenia Inventory (ESI-K) is a self-assessment procedure which can now be considered as the standard procedure in the diagnostics of schizophrenia. It has been evaluated in many studies and is widely used in research and clinical treatment. In contrast little is known about the psychometric characteristics of the short form of the ESI (ESI-K) which was designed in particular for prospective descriptive courses.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ESI-K was completed for 40 patients with schizophrenia undergoing complete inpatient psychiatric treatment together with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) form and the Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation (NOSIE). Of the patients 31 participated in a total of 4 measurements at 1-week intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The reliability (Cronbachs α) of the ESI-K was high at all measurement time points and was comparable to the reliability of the standard version. The reliability of the PANSS was roughly the same level but that of the NOSIE was poor. The ESI-K correlated in particular with cognitive syndrome and the positive syndrome of the PANSS. All four instruments showed a decrease in scores over the observational time period which indicated a decline in the psychopathological symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ESI-K is a valid time-saving procedure for documentation of the course of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. It reflects clinically relevant aspects from the spectrum of psychotic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Zentrum für Seelische Gesundheit Marienheide, Deutschland. reinhard.mass@klinikum-oberberg.de
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mass
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Burek
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013577:Syndrome