Laura Ridgeway, Albert Okoye
Catatonia is a serious condition that is potentially life threatening and can occur in children and adolescents. This short review highlights the importance of an awareness of the catatonia syndrome in both psychiatric and medical paediatric clinicians. In young patients, catatonia can be associated with various psychiatric, medical or developmental conditions. The timely identification of catatonia is essential as the treatment approach differs to that of the differential diagnoses and possible underlying conditions. The important aspects of a comprehensive clinical assessment, including the use of clinical rating scales, are outlined in this article. The pillars of medical treatment, firstly benzodiazepines and the second line treatment option of electroconvulsive therapy are discussed.
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