Catatonia
| Catatonia | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Catatonic syndrome |
| A patient in catatonic stupor, 1914 | |
| Specialty | Psychiatry, neurology |
| Symptoms | Immobility, mutism, staring, posturing, rigidity, low consciousness, etc. |
| Complications | Physical trauma, malignant catatonia (autonomic instability, life-threatening), dehydration, pneumonia, pressure ulcers due to immobility, muscle contractions, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) |
| Causes | Underlying illness (psychiatric, neurologic, or medical), brain injury/damage, certain drugs/medications |
| Diagnostic method | Clinical, lorazepam challenge |
| Treatment | Benzodiazepines (lorazepam challenge), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) |
Catatonia is a complex syndrome most commonly seen in people with underlying mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. People with catatonia exhibit abnormal movement and behaviors, which vary from person to person and may fluctuate in intensity within a single episode. People with catatonia appear withdrawn, meaning that they do not interact with the outside world and have difficulty processing information. They may be nearly motionless for days on end or perform repetitive purposeless movements. People may exhibit very different sets of behaviors and still be diagnosed with catatonia. Treatment with benzodiazepines or ECT are most effective and lead to remission of symptoms in most cases.
There are different subtypes of catatonia, which represent groups of symptoms that commonly occur together. These include stuporous/akinetic catatonia, excited catatonia, malignant catatonia, and periodic catatonia.
Catatonia has historically been related to schizophrenia (catatonic schizophrenia), but is most often seen in mood disorders. It is now known that catatonic symptoms are nonspecific and may be observed in other mental, neurological, and medical conditions.