[The diagnostic value of cranial computerized tomography in exogenous psychoses and mental disorders associated with organic disease (author's transl)].

205 patients hospitalized in a psychiatric department were subjected to cranial computerized tomography. The diagnosis on discharge according to the ICD key in each case was "psychoses or mental disorders associated with physical conditions". Pathological findings were obtained in 67.8% of the patients. In the case of space-occupying lesions the connection between psychiatric symptoms and syndromes and the underlying organic disease is obvious. Moreover, with inflammatory, vascular or traumatic diseases, a relationship to focal lesions found on the computer tomography appears likely if backed by appropriate neurological indications in the history or on clinical examinations. However, when alterations signifying diffuse brain atrophy are obtained on computer tomography any connections with psychiatric features should be very critically evaluated and, in individual cases, such connections had better not be looked for at all. Especially in cases of psychoses or mental disorders associated with physical conditions cranial computerized tomography is of high diagnostic value and the indications for its implementation in these cases should be judged very leniently.