Impacto de la duración de la psicosis no tratada en pacientes con primer episodio psicótico: Estudio de seguimiento a un a？o

background: the delay on the onset of specific treatment has several prognostic implications for psychotic patients. duration of untreated psychosis (dup) has been considered a prognostic variable. a longer dup has been associated with a poor clinical outcome. objective: to determine the dup in a sample of first-episode psychotic patients and its relationship with recovery and relapse on a one-year follow-up study. material and methods: a sample of 66 first-episode psychotic patients was recruited and divided according to their diagnoses in affective and non-affective psychoses. diagnoses were obtained with scan and dup was registered for each patient. a clinical assessment for psychotic and affective symptoms was performed using standardized instruments. results: all patient studied showed clinical improvement during follow-up. patients with a longer dup showed poorer psychosocial adjustment and lower recovery indexes. treatment suspension was the main variable associated with relapse. conclusions: dup is an important prognostic variable. early detection programs are required to decrease the period between illness onset, diagnosis and treatment in first-episode psychotic patients.