Psychotic disorder due to another medical condition is characterised by hallucinations or delusions that are caused by another medical disorder.
Psychosis refers to symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganised thinking and speech, and bizarre and inappropriate motor behaviour that indicate loss of contact with reality.
This diagnosis applies when psychosis is the result of a medical condition. For example, individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy sometimes hallucinate that they are smelling things that are not present.
Other medical disorders that may cause psychosis include:
- Brain tumours and infections;
- Stroke;
- Migraine; and
- Some hormone disorders.
However, individuals who have delirium from a severe medical illness or drug withdrawal are not considered to have psychotic disorder due to a medical condition.
Treating the medical condition often reduces the severity of psychotic symptoms, but some individuals also need specific treatment for the psychotic symptoms.
Refer to Schizophrenia and Related Disorders.
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