Psych CASC / OSCE · Consultation-liaison psychiatry
Explaining suspected autoimmune encephalitis to parents — CASC communication station
MRCPsych/FRANZCP-style station: explain organic autoimmune possibility in plain language, justify investigations and immunotherapy principles, correct antipsychotic misunderstanding without defensiveness, and plan shared decisions.
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Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes after reading time. You are the psychiatry registrar. Neurology is involved; you meet both parents. [1]
Candidate instructions. Explain why the team suspects a possible autoimmune brain inflammation that can look like psychosis, why lumbar puncture and further tests are needed, what immunotherapy means in plain language, why pelvic imaging may be required, and the limited role of antipsychotics. Respond to anger without defensiveness. Avoid inventing legal section numbers. Check understanding and agree next steps. [2][3]
References4ShowHide
- [1]Pollak TA, Lennox BR, Müller S, et al. Autoimmune psychosis: an international consensus on an approach to the diagnosis and management of psychosis of suspected autoimmune origin Lancet Psychiatry, 2020.PMID 31669058
- [2]Titulaer MJ, McCracken L, Gabilondo I, et al. Treatment and prognostic factors for long-term outcome in patients with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: an observational cohort study Lancet Neurol, 2013.PMID 23290630
- [3]Abboud H, Probasco JC, Irani S, et al. Autoimmune encephalitis: proposed best practice recommendations for diagnosis and acute management J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 2021.PMID 33649022
- [4]Dalmau J, Gleichman AJ, Hughes EG, et al. Anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis: case series and analysis of the effects of antibodies Lancet Neurol, 2008.PMID 18851928