Catatonia
One of the main reasons for the frequent misdiagnosis of catatonia is the continuing misconception that it is synonymous with schizophrenia - Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW
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There’s a Mysterious Syndrome That Turns People Into Statues
Patricia Rosebush's patient had vanished. Just an hour earlier, the woman was motionless in bed, unable to speak, eat, drink water, or respond to commands. When Rosebush first saw her, she thought, "Is she even breathing?" Yet now, her bed was empty.
"I was startled," Rosebush remembered. This encounter with the missing woman was in 1986, at the in-patient psychiatry unit at McMaster University in Canada. Rosebush, a neuropsychiatrist, had just unwittingly treated her first patient with catatonia—a strange disorder where people can suddenly become statue-like, losing the ability to move or speak. Based on a few case reports, Rosebush decided to give the woman an injection of the drug…
Resources
The Many Misconceptions of Catatonia: Treatment Is Often Successful With the Right Knowledge
One of the main reasons for the frequent misdiagnosis of catatonia is the continuing misconception that it is synonymous with schizophrenia.
Was This Agitation Just Part of Her Postpartum Anxiety, or Something Much More Serious?
Catatonia is usually defined by a slowing of movement, thought and speech. Excited catatonia is much less common, and its defining characteristic is agitation. But the excitation isn’t just seen in action or words. It can progress to a point where blood pressure and body temperature rise to life-threatening levels. Both forms of catatonia typically respond immediately to low doses of a type of sedative known as benzodiazepines.
Ask the doctor: What is catatonia?
As a 2009 review in the Archives of General Psychiatry aptly put it, catatonia may be forgotten, but it's certainly not gone. Long associated with schizophrenia ("catatonic type"), the latest research indicates that catatonia is a syndrome unto itself, and one that can be effectively treated.
Catatonia: Our current understanding of its diagnosis, treatment and pathophysiology
Because catatonia is common, highly treatable, and associated with significant morbidity and mortality if left untreated, physicians should maintain a high level of suspicion for this complex clinical syndrome.
The catatonic dilemma expanded
Catatonia is a common syndrome that was first described in the literature by Karl Kahlbaum in 1874. The literature is still developing and remains unclear on many issues, especially classification, diagnosis, and pathophysiology.
The Syndrome of Catatonia
This review reminds clinicians that catatonia is not exclusively associated with schizophrenia, and is still common in clinical practice. Many cases are related to affective disorders or are of an idiopathic nature.
There’s a Mysterious Syndrome That Turns People Into Statues
Patients with catatonia look frozen on the outside. On the inside they feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.
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