Bipolar disorder (BPD) is commonly misdiagnosed; this article concisely outlines the sub-types of BPD, important criteria essential for diagnosis and then demonstrates the most effective method of extracting the necessary information. Using the twenty-nine questions provided, health professionals can be confident they have checked sufficiently for symptomatology that is often missed; this should help to confirm whether a patient has BPD. The aim should remain to reduce morbidity and mortality due to misdiagnosis, by improving the sensitivity of screening, enabling faster access to the correct treatment for these vulnerable patients.
Keywords: bipolar disorder, diagnosis