Serum Creatine Phosphokinase Activity in Newly Admitted Psychiatric Patients: Part II

Serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity was determined in 726 patients and correlated with psychiatric diagnosis. Eighty-three of 209 acutely psychotic patients (39.7%) had increased serum CPK activity. The incidence of increased CPK levels in those patients with symptoms of less than two weeks' duration (65.1%) was significantly higher than in those whose symptoms were dated to more than two weeks prior to hospitalization (10.3%). The median increase was four to five times the upper limit of normal. Increases were present in patients with the whole range of acute psychotic syndromes not previously attributed to physical conditions. Few nonpsychotic and chronically psychotic patients had elevated serum CPK levels. Some patients with alcoholic psychoses or cerebral arteriosclerosis had elevated serum CPK activity. The determination of serum CPK activity may be of some use for diagnostic purposes.