COGNITIVE AND PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOMS IN A PATIENT WITH INFRATENTORIAL ARACHNOID CYST: CASE REPORT

We present a case of a patient with treatment resistant hallucinatory experiences with incidental finding of an arachnoid cyst localized in the posterior infratentorial cranial fossa dorsally to the cerebellum. Psychological testing revealed significant deficit of cognitive functions to the level of mild intellectual disability in a person that had previously finished high school with good grades. A combination of clozapine and lamotrigine led to significant improvement in mood and reduction of hallucinations, but without improvement in cognitive functions. We also performed a literature review of previously published case reports or case series of co-occurring posterior fossa arachnoid cyst and schizophrenia or psychosis or psychiatric symptoms using PubMed search and discuss some controversies considering their treatment outcome.

Improving the quality of life during treatment in the Day hospital for early intervention in Psychiatric Hospital "Sveti Ivan"

BACKGROUND

The Day hospital for early intervention is a time-limited structured therapeutic program based on different psychotherapy and socio-therapy techniques. The aim of this study was to examine the outcomes of the Day hospital treatment for early intervention on self-esteem, and quality of life, and to determine which patients benefit the most from the program.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The study was conducted on 124 patients with an early phase of psychosis who were treated at the Day hospital. They filled out Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and WHOQOL-BREF upon the admission and again after three months of the treatment. Interaction effects were examined between their sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, employment status), clinical features (first episode of psychosis or longer duration of illness), and results on applied questionnaires.

RESULTS

After three months of the treatment, patients evaluated their self-esteem, overall quality of life and satisfaction with different QoL domains (physical and psychological health, environment) as significantly improved. Younger patients had greater increase in estimated self-esteem compared to older patients. No other significant interactions were found.

CONCLUSION

Notwithstanding the limitations of this study, we may conclude that the findings are encouraging and may assist with development of more effective therapeutic approaches.