ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to develop an instrument for detection of relapse in psychotic disorder and to validate the instrument. METHODS: A total of 55 outpatients with psychotic disorder (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder) and 46 of their caregivers were enrolled. We developed the Questionnaire for Relapse Assessment in Psychotic disorder (QRAP), a self/report inventory. The patients and caregivers drew up the QRAP at two different time points, 'current' and 'the best state during the past three months'. In addition, we rated other established scales in order to evaluate psychotic and mood symptoms of patients. We divided patients into two groups, stable (n=30) and impending relapse (n=35) and evaluated the effectiveness of QRAP by calculating sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: For all patients and caregivers, QRAP total score at 'current' was higher than 'the best state during the past three months' and showed significant positive correlation with other established scales. As expected, QRAP total score at 'current' in the impending relapse group was higher than that of the stable group. With cut off criteria 1, the QRAP demonstrated 80.0% sensitivity and 56.3% specificity in caregivers and effectively detected impending relapse. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest the effectiveness of QRAP as an instrument for detection of relapse in patients with psychotic disorder.