Resurgence of catatonia following tapering or stoppage of lorazepam - A case series and implications

Syed Farooq Ali; Guru S Gowda; T S Jaisoorya; Suresh Bada Math

doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2017.04.002

Resurgence of catatonia following tapering or stoppage of lorazepam - A case series and implications

Asian J Psychiatr. 2017 Aug:28:102-105. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2017.04.002. Epub 2017 Apr 4.

Authors

Syed Farooq Ali¹, Guru S Gowda², T S Jaisoorya³, Suresh Bada Math³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Neurosciences, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore 560029, India.
² Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore 560029, India. Electronic address: drgsgowda@gmail.com.
³ Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore 560029, India.

PMID: 28784360
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2017.04.002

Abstract

The resurgence of catatonia following tapering of lorazepam is a common clinical phenomenon. However, there is limited evidence on the relationship between tapering method of lorazepam and resurgence of catatonic state. We report seven (0.6%) such patients who were found to have resurgence of catatonia. The mean age is 35.7 years; five of them had schizophrenia and other psychotic spectrum disorders. Five of them had resurgence within one week of stoppage, and three of them had multiple resurgences and required maintenance treatment with lorazepam. So gradual tapering and maintenance treatment with lorazepam might be effective in preventing resurgence of catatonia.

Keywords: Catatonia; Lorazepam; Maintenance; Recurrence; Resurgence.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Catatonia / drug therapy*
Female
GABA Modulators / administration & dosage*
Humans
Lorazepam / administration & dosage*
Male
Psychotic Disorders / drug therapy*
Recurrence
Schizophrenia, Catatonic / drug therapy*

Substances

GABA Modulators
Lorazepam