Under-diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder in A bedford CMHT.

BACKGROUND: bipolar disorder is frequently misdiagnosed or diagnosed late. Misdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder can have serious implications for prognosis and treatment of this condition.
METHOD: patients in a Community Mental Health Team were systematically screened for Bipolar Disorder.
RESULTS: There was a substantial increase in the number of bipolar patients diagnosed in the Community Mental Health Team. DISCUSSION: the frequent misdiagnosis of Bipolar II disorder frequently leads to the treatment of these patients with anti-depressants only.This leads to the possibility of patients becoming elated in mood, or going into mixed states, which can lead to increased suicidality.
CONCLUSION: appropriate diagnosis of bipolar II disorder requires skills at present found in secondary care. Such patients should therefore be referred to secondary care. Both Primary and Secondary care should be more aware of this diagnosis and its consequences.