title: Rating scales measuring the severity of psychotic depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Unipolar psychotic depression (PD) is a severe and debilitating syndrome, which requires intensive monitoring. The objective of this study was to provide an overview of the rating scales used to assess illness severity in PD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Selective review of publications reporting results on non-self-rated, symptom-based rating scales utilized to measure symptom severity in PD. The clinical and psychometric validity of the identified rating scales was reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 14 rating scales meeting the predefined criteria were included in the review. These scales grouped into the following categories: (i) rating scales predominantly covering depressive symptoms, (ii) rating scales predominantly covering psychotic symptoms, (iii) rating scales covering delusions, and (iv) rating scales covering PD. For the vast majority of the scales, the clinical and psychometric validity had not been tested empirically. The only exception from this general tendency was the 11-item Psychotic Depression Assessment Scale (PDAS), which was developed specifically to assess the severity of PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In PD, the PDAS represents the only empirically derived rating scale for the measurement of overall severity of illness. The PDAS should be considered in future studies of PD and in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department P - Research, Aarhus University Hospital - Risskov, Risskov, Denmark.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Østergaard
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School and University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rothschild
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Flint
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Mulsant
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Whyte
authors.affiliation: King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, UK.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Leadholm
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Research Unit, Psychiatric Center North Zealand, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bech
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital - Westchester Division, White Plains, NY, USA.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Meyers
mesh_terms: D000068105:Bipolar and Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: affective disorders; depression; psychometrics; psychoses