Schizophrenia in hospitalized adolescents: clinical diagnosis, DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and ICD-10 criteria

Abstract

The DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and ICD-10 criteria were tested in hospitalized adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders employing a retrospective chart review. The charts of 111 patients, ages 11 to 17 years, representing consecutive admissions to Bellevue Hospital Center over a period of 18 months were reviewed. Thirty patients had a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders on admission and were selected for the present study. The 30 patients were independently rediagnosed using the criteria of DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and ICD-10. Schizophrenia was diagnosed clinically in 6 patients, 10 met DSM-III-R criteria, 9 met DSM-IV criteria, and 12 met the ICD-10 criteria. Agreement for schizophrenia was high across the diagnostic systems. The clinical diagnosis of psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified (NOS) was overinclusive. The mean number of psychotic symptoms per subject was 2.66 (range 1-6). We found no significant relationship between the frequency or type of symptoms and the age or gender of subjects.