DSM-IV-TR Case Studies: A Clinical Guide to Differential Diagnosis » (1st Edition)

Frances, A

DSM-IV-TR® Case Studies: A Clinical Guide to Differential Diagnosis will help the reader gain an understanding of how to use DSM-IV-TR in actual clinical situations. This book, co-authored by Allen Frances, Chair of the Task Force on DSM-IV, translates the clinical concepts and terminology of DSM-IV-TR into vivid three-dimensional examples, to help the clinician take full advantage of the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria. The case studies bring to life the process of differential diagnosis and illustrate how important this process can be for treatment planning.

This casebook follows the organizational pattern of DSM-IV-TR and provides examples of the most commonly encountered disorders. For each case, the book provides

• A five-axis DSM-IV-TR diagnosis
• A discussion of the most likely differential diagnosis and how to choose among them
• A review of treatment options

The final chapter, titled “Test Yourself,” includes a number of complex cases, each accompanied by a brief discussion, which allows the reader to compare notes with the authors.

Changes to this edition include:

• Updated material on psychosocial treatment of ADHD
• Updated material on treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
• More discussion of atypical antipsychotics
• Focus on cognitive problems in schizophrenia

DSM-IV-TR® Case Studies: A Clinical Guide to Differential Diagnosis will help students and clinicians become familiar with the symptoms that make up each DSM-IV-TR diagnosis. A good understanding of, and memory for, the symptoms that define the most commonly encountered diagnoses will improve interviewing and diagnostic techniques. The case studies can serve as easily remembered examples to help the reader recall the criteria sets and will benefit all clinicians who desire to become more comprehensive and accurate interviewers.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Diana Marta, BSN, RN (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: If you've ever had difficulty tranlsating the DSM-IV-TR into practical use, this is the book for you. In each diagnostic category, it expands on the symptoms and behaviors unique to that diagnosis by giving clinical examples. It should serve to assist professionals in making differential diagnoses and then allowing them to tailor treatment to these variations.
Purpose: This book is intended as a companion to the DSM-IV-TR, to assist the clinician with its use in the clinical setting. It does an excellent job of providing clear case studies that bring to life the diagnoses and demonstrate their finer distinctions. It goes further and presents treatment options in each case, reinforcing that different individuals may require different interventions.
Audience: This is an excellent reference for any clinician whose job it is to diagnose patients with psychiatric disorders. Because it is so clearly presented, it could easily be used for educational purposes as well. The co-author is also chair of the Task Force on DSM-IV and he and those associated with its development are highly credible. Some of the cases are taken from columns in Hospital and Community Psychiatry, also edited by one of the authors.
Features: The book is organized in a pattern parallel to the DSM-IV-TR. Within each section, it provides a five-axis DSM-IV-TR diagnosis, a discussion of differentials and variations of presentation and how to distinguish them, and recommended treatment options. Its organization is one of its best features and its case studies are well presented. The last chapter tests the reader with examples of complex cases and discussion by each of the authors.
Assessment: Having only recently become involved in making diagnoses, I found this book helpful in elucidating the differences as well as illumiating the gray areas of differential diagnostics. I especially appreciated the emphasis on the necessity for open-ended or revised diagnoses when the onset of symptoms occurs at an early age or the etiology is undetermined. It seems to reinforce the notion that diagnoses are often works in progress rather than set in stone, which also allows for more flexibility in treatment modalities.