Case Report

Volume: 4 | Issue: 11 | Published: Nov 10, 2020 | Pages: 376 - 379 | DOI: 10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report


Authors: Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu , Mustafa Ugurlu , Meltem Kilic , Zuhal Koc Apaydin , Ali Caykoylu


Article Info

Authors

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu

Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry Department, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

Mustafa Ugurlu

Psychiatry Department, Ministry of Health, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

Meltem Kilic

Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry Department, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

Zuhal Koc Apaydin

Psychiatry Department, Ministry of Health, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

Ali Caykoylu

Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry Department, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

Publication History

Received: December 06, 2019

Revised: September 15, 2020

Accepted: September 24, 2020

Published: November 10, 2020


Abstract


Background: In some medical cases, psychotic symptoms can be part of the clinical picture, and sometimes it can even be the only clinical appearance of the medical condition. Psychotic disorders secondary to organic pathologies affecting the central nervous system are called psychotic disorders due to a general medical condition. While some of these secondary causes can easily be detected by laboratory and imaging methods, anamnesis or neurological examination (substance use, trauma, and tumors), others are often overlooked in the presence of rare medical conditions (autoimmune disease and viral encephalitis), when laboratory and examination findings are not clear and psychiatric symptoms are in the foreground. Case Presentation: In this case, we tried to reveal the differential diagnosis and treatment processes of a patient who was admitted to the emergency department with psychotic symptoms, such as agitation, aggression, and paranoid delusions, and was admitted to the psychiatry clinic after an urgent medical evaluation. After his admission to the psychiatry clinic, the medical evaluation of the patient was re-evaluated in detail due to memory and orientation deterioration, and as a result, clinical pictures such as Hashimoto’s encephalopathy, herpes encephalitis, and epileptic seizures were found to be together in the patient. As a matter of fact, both general medical and psychiatric statuses of the patient improved with the application of low doses and short term antipsychotic treatment for psychiatric symptoms together with the treatment for this underlying general medical condition. Conclusion: Since the treatment of psychiatric symptoms caused by secondary medical factors is quite different from the treatment of primary psychiatric disorders, it is important to make full medical evaluations, especially in patients presenting with psychiatric symptoms for the first time or presenting with emergency psychiatric symptoms.

Keywords: Hashimoto’s encephalopathy, herpes encephalitis, psychotic symptoms, seizure, green


Pubmed Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu. Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report. EJMCR. 2020; 10 (November 2020): 376-379. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

Web Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu. Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report. https://ejmcr.com/articles/1372 [Access: December 26, 2024]. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu. Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report. EJMCR. 2020; 10 (November 2020): 376-379. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu. Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report. EJMCR. (2020), [cited December 26, 2024]; 10 (November 2020): 376-379. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

Harvard Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu (2020) Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report. EJMCR, 10 (November 2020): 376-379. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

Chicago Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu. "Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report." 10 (2020), 376-379. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu. "Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report." 10.November 2020 (2020), 376-379. Print. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Gorkem Karakas Ugurlu, Mustafa Ugurlu, Meltem Kilic, Zuhal Koc Apaydin, Ali Caykoylu (2020) Acute psychotic symptoms caused by overlapping central nervous system pathologies: a case report. , 10 (November 2020), 376-379. doi:10.24911/ejmcr/173-1575624797