OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SPECTRUM DISORDERS IN PRIMARY-CARE - THE POSSIBILITIES AND THE PITFALLS

Although the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors make the treatmen t of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders possible for primary care physicians, numerous obstacles to successful treatment in the primary care setting remain. Given the absence of studies of primary care pat ients in primary care settings, the generalizability of results from p atients with obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders in psychiatric se ttings is uncertain. The primary care physician must combat resistance and refusal by patients to accept psychiatric intervention. In additi on, the primary care physician faces recognition problems-not only are patients reluctant to disclose such problems, but primary care physic ians lack Validated screening tools. The development of a new computer ized compulsive-impulsive spectrum scale should assist primary care ph ysicians in diagnosing and treating obsessive-compulsive spectrum diso rders, which may occur at a rate of 10% in the primary care setting.