What is the difference in clinical presentation between schizoaffective disorder and mood disorder with psychotic features?
In clinical practice, as opposed to psychiatric textbooks, there is often very little difference in presentation between schizoaffective disorder (SD) and a mood disorder with psychotic features (MDPF). The trick is in sorting out the “longitudinal course” of the illness over a period of months or years. By definition, SD individuals must show a period of time during which they meet criteria for both the “A” symptoms of schizophrenia (delusions, hallucinations) AND either a manic or major depressive episode. In addition, SD patients must show a “disconnect” – a period of at least two weeks in which they have psychotic features (delusions or hallucinations) without any prominent mood symptoms. In practice, it is often difficult to sort out such meticulous details, since most people who are becoming psychotic do not keep careful notes on the course of their symptoms! Very often, we rely on family or spouse to help us make the diagnosis. No Iframes In theory, someone with MDPF (mood disor
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