Modification of the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale for use in bipolar illness (BP): the CGI-BP

doi:10.1016/S0165-1781(97)00123-6

Psychiatry Research

Volume 73, Issue 3, 5 December 1997, Pages 159-171

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1781(97)00123-6 Get rights and content

Abstract

The Clinical Global Impressions Scale (CGI) was modified specifically for use in assessing global illness severity and change in patients with bipolar disorder. Criticisms of the original CGI were addressed by correcting inconsistencies in scaling, identifying time frames for comparison, clarifying definitions of illness severity and change, and separating out assessment of treatment side effects from illness improvement during treatment. A Detailed User's Guide was developed to train clinicians in the use of the new CGI-Bipolar Version (CGI-BP) for rating severity of manic and depressive episodes and the degree of change from the immediately preceding phase and from the worst phase of illness. The revised scale and manual provide a focused set of instructions to facilitate the reliability of these ratings of mania, depression, and overall bipolar illness during treatment of an acute episode or in longer-term illness prophylaxis. Interrater reliability of the scale was demonstrated in preliminary analyses. Thus, the modified CGI-BP is anticipated to be more useful than the original CGI in studies of bipolar disorder.

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Patients completed the PDQ-4+ and the treating clinician independently assessed retrospectively over the past 12 months the course of BD (number of depressive and (hypo)manic episodes, number and duration of hospitalizations, and suicide attempts) and the overall severity of illness using the Clinical Global Impression scale for BP (CGI-BP). Mann-Whitney U tests were used for group comparisons. Spearman rho was used to evaluate associations between the prevalence of PD traits and course of BD.
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Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) are frequently exposed to traumatic events which worsen disease course, but this study is the first multicentre randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of a trauma-focused adjunctive psychotherapy in reducing BD affective relapse rates.
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ArticleModification of the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale for use in bipolar illness (BP): the CGI-BP

Abstract

Psychiatry Research

General Hospital Psychiatry

Current Therapeutic Research

‘Clinical global impressions’ (ECDEU): some critical comments

Pharmacopsychiatrie

Predictors of valproate response in bipolar rapid cycling

Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology

Extended open-label fluoxetine treatment of adolescents with major depression

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

Reliability and clinical concepts underlying global judgments in dementia: implications for clinical research

Psychopharmacology Bulletin

Comparative prophylactic efficacy of lithium, carbamazepine and the combination in bipolar disorder

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

A double-blind, comparative, multicentre study comparing paroxetine with fluoxetine in depressed patients

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Pattern analysis of antidepressant response to fluoxetine

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry

A clinical study of clozapine treatment and predictors of response in a Canadian sample

Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

Efficacy of xantinolnicotinate in patients with dementia

Pharmacopsychiatrie

Practicable and valid approach to evaluate the efficacy of nootropic drugs by means of rating scales

Pharmacopsychiatrie

Article
Modification of the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale for use in bipolar illness (BP): the CGI-BP