The many faces of bipolar disorder

PREVIEW

Diagnosing bipolar disorder can be difficult because you may see the patient only when he or she is in the depressive phase of the disorder. Added to that are features of other, comorbid psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse, that may mask the clinical picture. How do you differentiate bipolar disorder correctly so that you can give your patients the treatment they need? Drs Citrome and Goldberg review the diagnostic criteria and distinguishing features of the components of bipolar disorder and offer suggestions for performing accurate differential diagnosis in primary care.