What is it about?
Catatonia is a frequent syndrome in medically ill patients, and thus seen frequently in the general hospital. This study reviewed charts from a general hospital and found that a significant amount of cases meeting criteria for catatonia were never diagnosed. Also, some catatonia signs might be related to lack of detection of catatonia more than others, and lack of detection was associated with lower doses of the effective treatment. Psychiatry consultation increased tremendously the likelihood of adequate detection of catatonia.
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Why is it important?
This is the first study that demonstrates possible lack of adequate diagnosis of catatonia in the general hospital and what factors might contribute to it. This study might help increase awareness of catatonia in the general hospital.
Perspectives
This paper was the product of a crazy idea, followed by two years of chart reviewing work trying to assess for catatonia signs in the hospital chart documentation. It was interesting and fulfilling to do this work in many aspects because we were finding under-diagnosed cases, but wish we had come with a better way to select potential cases from the beginning. Exciting that is finally published and hope it helps increase awareness about this fascinating syndrome.
Joan Roig Llesuy
New York University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Catatonia Under-Diagnosis in the General Hospital, Journal of Neuropsychiatry, January 2018, American Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.17060123.
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