1/29. A case of agitated catatonia.Agitation is one of the diagnostic features of catatonia in the DSM IV classification, but permanent forms of agitated catatonia have occasionally been described. We report the case of a 43-year-old man who had already suffered from undifferentiated schizophrenia for 7 years, and in whom we diagnosed agitated catatonia. While our patient was being treated with a neuroleptic during a second episode of paranoia, a state of agitation was observed which persisted for a further 8 months. During this period, he was treated with several different neuroleptics and benzodiazepines, either alone or in association, without any improvement. No organic cause was found. He was then transferred to our electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) unit, with a diagnosis of schizophrenic agitation resistant to drug therapy. ECT was begun, and he was only given droperidol in case of agitation and alimemazine for insomnia, neither of which had any effect. In view of his persistent agitation without any purpose, echolalia and echopraxia, stereotyped movements with mannerisms and marked mimicking and grimacing, we diagnosed him as having agitated catatonia. After the fourth session of ECT, we decided to stop all treatment and gave him lorazepam at a dose of 12.5 mg daily. Twenty-four hours later, all symptoms of agitation had disappeared. In our opinion, permanent catatonic agitation is not rare. In our case, the neuroleptic treatment maintained and may even have worsened the symptomatology. lorazepam can be used as a therapeutic test for this type of agitation, especially if it does not respond to neuroleptics. This also allows the patient to be sedated rapidly and effectively, thus preventing him from injuring himself further.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = schizophrenia, schizophrenic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/29. catatonia under medication with risperidone in a 61-year-old patient.This report describes the case of a 61-year-old female schizophrenic patient with status post-frontal lobotomy some 35 years ago with prominent paranoid delusions. This woman developed severe catatonia under medication with a serotonergic/dopaminergic neuroleptic, risperidone, at a dose of up to 5 mg daily. The catatonic disorder was dose-dependent and subsided immediately after switching the medication to another atypical antipsychotic, clozapine. Given the negative history for catatonia in this patient, the temporal coincidence of administration of risperidone and catatonia is a novel finding.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33488523445868keywords = schizophrenic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/29. Case series: catatonic syndrome in young people.This article reviews all recent (1977-1997) reports on catatonic adolescents and summarizes the 9 consecutive cases seen at the authors' institution during the past 6 years. catatonia occurs infrequently in adolescents (0.6% of the inpatient population), but it appears to be a severe syndrome in adolescents of both sexes. Diagnoses associated with catatonia are diverse, including in this series: schizophrenia (n = 6), psychotic depression (n = 1), mania (n = 1), and schizophreniform disorder (n = 1). Two patients had a previous history of pervasive developmental disorder. In the literature, catatonia was also reported in children with organic condition (e.g., epilepsy, encephalitis). Therapeutic management depends on the specific causes, but several points need to be stressed: (1) the frequency of neuroleptic-induced adverse effects; (2) the potential efficacy of sedative drugs on motor signs; (3) the possible use of electroconvulsive therapy; and (4) the necessity to manage family reactions and fears, which are frequent causes of noncooperation. It is concluded that catatonia is an infrequent but severe condition in young people. While symptomatology, etiologies, complications, and treatment are similar to those reported in the adult literature, findings differ with regard to the female-male ratio and the relative frequencies of associated mental disorders.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66511476554132keywords = schizophrenia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/29. Malignant catatonia-induced respiratory failure with response to ECT.A 47-year-old acutely psychotic schizophrenic man was diagnosed with malignant catatonia. Because of a history of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), traditional neuroleptics were avoided, and the patient had been treated with reserpine for a period of 10 years. Symptomatically, severe agitation alternated with severe retardation. The syndrome progressed, despite early termination of any neuroleptic medications, to marked catatonic rigidity and dehydration. Worsening was associated with transfer to a medical intensive care unit, intubation, and subsequently a tracheostomy. dantrolene and bromocriptine were unhelpful. lorazepam produced muscular relaxation and resulting decreases in creatine phosphokinase levels but elicited no other improvement. Eleven bilateral electroconvulsive treatments, however, resolved the respiratory impairment and catatonia and improved the psychosis. This report highlights the efficacy of ECT in lethal catatonia despite respiratory impairment and tracheostomy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33488523445868keywords = schizophrenic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/29. Adverse outcome with delay in identification of catatonia in elderly patients.All three patients to show catatonia at a teaching veterans' hospital over a 1-year period were over 60 years old. Each experienced delays of 2-5 months in identification of catatonia and adverse events attributable to the delay (e.g., pulmonary embolus, physical restraint, pneumonia, mislabeling as "advanced dementia," Do Not Resuscitate orders, and death). These outcomes suggest that geriatric patients with unrecognized catatonia are at high risk for major adverse events.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0069885956476678keywords = dementia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/29. Response of catatonia to risperidone: two case reports.The present study describes two patients, both of Yemenite origin, with catatonic schizophrenia who responded to treatment with risperidone. One had a long history of psychiatric disorder, whereas the other was a first-episode, drug-naive patient. Our observation agrees with previous reports on the use of risperidone and other novel neuroleptic agents in the treatment of catatonia of different etiologies.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66511476554132keywords = schizophrenia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/29. Is the immobility of advanced dementia a form of lorazepam-responsive catatonia?patients with end-stage dementia typically are very immobilized. Could this state actually be a form of lorazepam-responsive catatonia? catatonia has been documented following cerebrovascular accidents, head injury, hiv encephalitis, brain tumors, and multiple sclerosis. Identified anatomical substrates include frontal lobes, parietal lobes, limbic system, diencephalon, and basal ganglia. Given that Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, corticobasal degeneration, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinsonian dementia often have degeneration in some of the same areas, dramatic awakenings might be possible by giving lorazepam challenges to locked-in dementia patients. If even a small percentage were lorazepam responders, the impact worldwide would be tremendous. Serious consideration should be given to undertaking large-scale clinical trials.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.069885956476678keywords = dementia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/29. Chronic 'speech catatonia' with constant logorrhea, verbigeration and echolalia successfully treated with lorazepam: a case report.Logorrhea, verbigeration and echolalia persisted unremittingly for 3 years, with occasional short periods of motoric excitement, in a patient with mild intellectual handicap suffering from chronic schizophrenia. The speech catatonic symptoms, previously refractory to various antipsychotics, responded promptly to lorazepam, a benzodiazepine with documented efficacy in the treatment of acute catatonia but not chronic catatonia. It is suggested that pathways in speech production were selectively involved in the genesis of the chronic speech catatonic syndrome, possibly a rare form of chronic catatonia not previously described.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66511476554132keywords = schizophrenia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/29. Zotepine-induced catatonia as a precursor in the progression to neuroleptic malignant syndrome.A 39-year-old man with schizophrenia developed severe catatonia, hyperthermia, muscle rigidity, tachycardia, leukocytosis, and elevated muscle enzyme levels while receiving zotepine therapy. neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) was diagnosed. After withdrawal of zotepine therapy, transfer to a neurologic intensive care unit, provision of supportive care, and administration of adjunctive bromocriptine therapy, the patient's fever and catatonia subsided. Biochemical irregularities spontaneously returned to normal with no complications. Antipsychotic therapy was restarted with risperidone 12 days after the patient's NMS resolved. After more than 1 year of follow-up, he experienced no adverse events. A recent decrease in mortality from NMS is related to increased awareness of this disorder, but not to treatment with specific agents. Clinicians need to recognize NMS early; although rare, it is a potentially fatal complication of antipsychotic treatment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66511476554132keywords = schizophrenia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/29. Malignant catatonia with severe bronchorrhea and its response to electroconvulsive therapy.A 21-year-old female presented excitement, auditory hallucination, monologue, and insomnia. After 1 week of risperidone administration, she showed hyperthermia, salivation, and muscle rigidity. risperidone was discontinued, but stupor, convulsions, and respiratory distress developed. In the intensive care unit where she was transferred, catatonic symptoms such as stupor or excitement, catalepsy, and negativism were prominent. In addition, severe bronchorrhea causing respiratory failure was observed. Her catatonic symptoms, hyperthermia, and bronchorrhea resolved by ECT. After recovery, affective flattening, alogia, and avolition remained. The final diagnosis was MC associated with schizophrenia. This report suggests that MC may be complicated by severe bronchorrhea, but this condition responds to ECT.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66511476554132keywords = schizophrenia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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