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A dramatic case of a woman discovered after 7 months of untreated catatonia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2016

M. Ratzlaff Open the ORCID record for M. Ratzlaff [Opens in a new window]  and
M. Harrington
M. Ratzlaff*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
M. Harrington
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
*
*Address for correspondence: M. Ratzlaff, MB, BCh, BAO, Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, 771 Bannatyne Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3E 3N4. (Email: matt_ratzlaff@hotmail.com)
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Abstract

Described is an unusually severe case of catatonia in the context of a major depressive episode. The patient is a 49-year-old Caucasian female who was living with her husband in an urban apartment. In March 2015, she experienced a major depressive episode in the context of financial hardship after being dismissed from her job. She became catatonic and did not leave her apartment for 7 months. For the first 4 months she lay in bed, then after losing bowel and bladder continence, she was transferred by her husband to the bedroom floor where she lay prone for another 3 months before paramedics were notified. She subsequently underwent a 4-month admission to an intensive care unit, surgical ward, and psychiatric ward. This case shows the extreme extent of psychiatric and physical sequelae that can result from prolonged delay of treatment of severe catatonia in the context of depression.

Keywords

Catatoniacompetencydepressionelectroconvulsive therapyneglect
Type
Case Report
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 69 - 73
Copyright
© College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 2016 

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