catatonia

what is catatonia?

neuropsychiatric condition where the individual becomes unreactive to the environment

marked abnormalities of movement, behaviour, speech, and responsiveness.

It can range from:

• almost no movement or speech
  to

• excessive purposeless agitation.

what are the psychiatric causes of catatonia?

- bipolar disorder

- schizophrenia

- depression

- OCD

- PTSD

- autism

what are the non-psychiatric causes of catatonia?

- infections

- autoimmune disorders

- side effect or withdrawal from benzos or antipsychotics

- substance abuse

- withdrawal from alcohol or cocaine

what are the clinical features of catatonia?

- sitting or standing in sam position for hours

- holding odd positions

- resisting movement of extremities

what are the features of severe (malignant) catatonia?

- fever

- psychomotor agitation

- autonomic dysfunction - life-threatening

how do you treat catatonia?

benzodiazepines - IV lorazepam

or ECT