Evaluation of Four-Year Stability of Unspecified Psychosis

Introduction: Unspecified psychosis, defined with the F29 code in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th version is commonly used if there is inadequate information to make the diagnosis of a specific psychotic disorder. There is a lack of data about the prevalence, incidence, diagnostic validity and stability of this diagnosis. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence and diagnostic consistency of unspecified psychosis in the outpatient unit. Methods: Patients diagnosed with the ICD-10 F29 code at the first visit and interviewed at least three times between January 2012-2016 in the Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic were included (n= 138). Hospital records were reviewed retrospectively and data were analyzed with SPSS 19th version. Results: Mean duration of follow-up was 22.8 +/- 14.7 months. The diagnoses at the final follow-up were unspecified psychosis (43%), bipolar disorders (18%), schizophrenia (11%), major depression (7%), and anxiety disorders (4%). No significant difference was found between the follow-up diagnoses in terms of age, duration of follow-up, gender, educational status and marital status. Conclusion: The diagnostic stability of unspecified psychosis is low compared to other psychotic disorders. Follow-up studies with larger sample sizes are required to elucidate the the low diagnostic stability of unspecified psychosis.