ABSTRACT
In a setting in which somatic symptoms without obvious organic causes are prevalent and in which doctors do not have very convincing explanations to offer, people in prolonged contact with such patients may appear to develop similar symptoms but claim the original patient as the source of their symptoms. At times, it is the original patient that detects the similarity and raises the question of contagion. Based on a study of four Nigerian patients, the author proposes the possible existence of a shared somatic disorder, comparable in many ways to induced psychotic disorder (DSM-III-R) and reopens the discussion on the whole concept of sharing/communication of psychiatric symptoms.
Subject(s)
Communication , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Delusions/psychology , Developing Countries , Shared Paranoid Disorder/psychology , Somatoform Disorders/psychology , Adult , Delusions/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Marriage/psychology , Military Personnel/psychology , Shared Paranoid Disorder/diagnosis , Sick Role , Social Environment , Somatoform Disorders/diagnosisABSTRACT
Inadequate attention has been given to verifying the psychometric attributes of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), yet its popularity has been increasing in recent years. Our 6 years' experience in Nigeria showed that OSCE is practicable in undergraduate psychiatry assessment and there is evidence over consecutive years that it has satisfactory reliability and criterion-based validity. The importance of students' feedback in assessing the quality of examination is reinforced, and subtle, less tangible elements which determine students' performance, such as social interactional mystique and some personality traits, are worthy of evaluative research.
Subject(s)
Clinical Competence , Education, Medical, Undergraduate , Psychiatry/education , Educational Measurement/methods , Humans , NigeriaABSTRACT
Acute non-anaphylactic reactions to procaine penicillin include fear of death, sensations of disintegration, perceived changes of body shape, and visual and auditory hallucinations. Fragments of the original reaction experience, or elaborations of it, feature prominently in a chronic syndrome which persists if the initial reaction is not supported emotionally or professionally. The cultural acceptance of the reality of 'mysterious' forces played a role in the syndrome. Compatible diagnostic labels were panic disorder, post-traumatic disorder, mixed phobic disorder, and depressive illness. The observed period prevalence rate is 5.9 per 1,000.
Subject(s)
Penicillin G Procaine/adverse effects , Penicillin G/adverse effects , Psychoses, Substance-Induced/etiology , Stress, Psychological/chemically induced , Adult , Humans , Injections, Intramuscular , Male , Penicillin G Procaine/administration & dosageABSTRACT
Efforts at medical psychotherapy in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital are appraised. Six popular generalisations that have tended to discourage attempts at medical psychotherapy in Africa are presented and illustrated by thirteen vignettes derived from our experience in psychotherapy among Nigerians in the last six years. The vignettes encourage reappraisal of these popular generalisations with a view to modifying them and stimulating more effort by others in the same direction. Methods used are discussed and relevant literature is reviewed.
Subject(s)
Medicine, Traditional , Psychotherapy , Adjustment Disorders/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Cultural Characteristics , Female , Grief , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nigeria , Somatoform Disorders/therapySubject(s)
Competitive Behavior , Cultural Characteristics , Culture , Sibling Relations , Underachievement , Adolescent , Adult , Birth Order , Female , Humans , Jealousy , Male , NigeriaABSTRACT
A survey of 50 male and 50 female (N = 100) psychiatric outpatients of Lagos University Teaching Hospital was carried out. DSM III diagnoses of patients was determined from the case notes. Sociodemographic data were also recorded. Findings were analysed for inter-relationships of diagnoses, sociodemographic data and three belief categories (medical, psychosocial and supernatural). The expected predominance of supernatural beliefs was absent; psychosocial responses were greater than the supernatural. There was no relationship between psychoses and supernatural belief types.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Community Mental Health Services , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Mental Disorders/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Magic , Male , Medicine, Traditional , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , NigeriaABSTRACT
A case of folie à deux in two sisters from Nigeria is presented. The illness arises in a setting of multiple object losses, and social isolation, which left the two sisters most vulnerable. The more passive sister picks up some of the symptoms of her previously ill sister and they join in destructive activity which brings them to the hospital. Transcultural aspects are emphasized.
