title: Short-term diagnostic stability of acute psychosis: data from a tertiary care psychiatric center in South India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies on acute psychosis in patients from India report good outcome. A small proportion of these patients may suffer relapses or other develop major psychiatric disorders later.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the diagnostic stability of acute psychosis in patients from India.
  
  
  METHODS
  The records of patients who presented with the first episode of acute and transient psychotic disorder (n=57) over 1 year (2004) were analyzed, and the follow-up data at the end of 1 and 2 years were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the sample was 30.72 years. The mean duration of illness episode was 18.15±17.10 days. The follow-up data were available for 77.2% (n=44) and 75.4% (n=43) of the sample at the end of first and second years. Relapse was recorded in 47.4 and 54.4% at the end of first and second years, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnosis changed into other disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and unspecified psychosis, while a majority retained the initial diagnosis of acute psychosis. The findings suggest that acute psychosis is a relatively stable condition. A small percentage of these patients may go on to develop schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Janardhanan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Narayanaswamy
authors.forename: Virupaksha Harave
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
authors.forename: Dhanya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raveendranathan
authors.forename: Biju
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Viswanath
authors.forename: Kesavan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muralidharan