Schizoaffective disorder (SAD) and schizophrenia (SZ) are important causes of disability and morbidity. Finding clinical features that can help in their early differentiation may lead to a better understanding of these two nosologic entities.

The purpose of this study was to find clinical differences between SAD and SZ.

We selected for this study 83 inpatients from the Timisoara Psychiatric Clinic, diagnosed with either SAD (n=35) or SZ (n=48), according to ICD-10 criteria. The research was conducted between 2014 and 2016. Socio-demographic (age, sex, education, marital status) and clinical data were analysed. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used to assess symptom severity.

Delusions of grandiosity were found significantly more frequent in SAD patients (P=0.001). By contrast, bizzare delusions (P=0.025), derealization phenomena (P=0.03) and negative symptoms (P=0.003) appeared more frequent in schizophrenic patients. We found no significant differences between the two samples regarding onset age, number of episodes, duration of episode, duration of remission and suicidal thoughts/attempts. Although the SZ sample had higher BPRS total scores than SAD patients, the differences were not statistically significant.

Even though SAD and SZ are very similar in respect to their clinical presentation, this study also revealed certain differences that may enhance specific knowledge regarding these two disorders.