A 20 year old boy c/o hearing of voices, aggressive behavior since 2 days. He has fever since 2 days. When asked to his family, they says that he has been muttering to self and gesticulating. There is no h/o of psychiatric illness. Likely diagnosis is
**Core Concept**
Acute psychosis is a psychiatric condition characterized by a sudden onset of disorganized thinking, perception, and behavior, often accompanied by a break from reality. This can manifest as hallucinations (e.g., hearing voices), delusions, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior.
**Why the Correct Answer is Right**
The patient's symptoms of hearing voices, aggressive behavior, muttering to himself, and gesticulating suggest a psychotic break. The acute onset of these symptoms, particularly in the absence of a previous psychiatric history, points towards an acute psychotic episode. This is often seen in conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder. The presence of fever might indicate a medical or neurological cause, but the primary symptoms of psychosis suggest an acute psychotic disorder.
**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
**Option A:** Dementia is a chronic condition characterized by progressive cognitive decline, not an acute onset of psychotic symptoms. Dementia typically affects older adults and is not consistent with the patient's age or acute presentation.
**Option C:** Delirium is a state of altered consciousness characterized by confusion, disorientation, and fluctuating cognitive impairment. While delirium can present with psychotic symptoms, the patient's symptoms of hearing voices and aggressive behavior are more suggestive of a primary psychotic disorder rather than a secondary delirium.
**Option D:** Delusional disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by the presence of one or more delusions without the presence of hallucinations or disorganized behavior. The patient's symptoms of hearing voices and gesticulating suggest a more complex psychotic disorder, not a simple delusional disorder.
**Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
In psychiatry, a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms in a young adult without a previous psychiatric history often suggests an underlying medical or neurological condition, such as a viral encephalitis, autoimmune disorder, or substance-induced psychosis.
**✓ Correct Answer: B. Acute psychosis**