Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Freudenreich, O. Articles by Fricchione, G. L. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Freudenreich, O. Articles by Fricchione, G. L. Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders Syndromes Secondary to General Medical Disorders

Catatonic Coma With Profound Bradycardia

Received March 17, 2006; revised July 14, 2006; accepted July 26, 2006. From the Dept. of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and the Dept. of Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, NC. Send correspondence and reprint requests to Oliver Freudenreich, M.D., MGH Schizophrenia Program, Freedom Trail Clinic, 25 Staniford St., 2nd Fl., Boston, MA 02114. e-mail: ofreudenreich{at}partners.org

Catatonia may be monosymptomatic at presentation, with stupor or coma as the cardinal and only manifestation. A case of catatonic coma with profound bradycardia is presented to help clinicians recognize this entity and include catatonia in the differential diagnosis of coma as a rare etiology after other more common causes of coma have been excluded. Cases of catatonic coma are nevertheless important to identify because treatment with intravenous benzodiazepines is simple and highly effective. The authors argue that the descriptive term "catatonic coma" is preferable over terms implying psychogenesis, such as "psychogenic" or "hysterical" coma; for catatonia, the authors have a specific treatment, in the form of benzodiazepines; for "psychogenesis," there is none.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Ahuja and A. J. Lloyd On Catatonia, Seizures, and Bradycardia Psychosomatics, February 1, 2008; 49(1): 86 - 86. [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2007 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us