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Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Delirium With Catatonic Features

1989; American Medical Association; Volume: 46; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1001/archneur.1989.00520420118033

1538-3687

Péter Hauser,

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment

We report the cases of 3 patients with medically intractable seizures in whom withdrawal of treatment with a long-acting benzodiazepine (clorazepate dipotassium, 2 patients; clonazepam, 1 patient) was followed by delirium with catatoniclike features. While an increase in seizure frequency occurred during withdrawal and prior to the onset of behavioral changes, electroencephalograms did not show epileptiform activity during the delirium. We compared these 3 patients with 10 others with intractable seizures in whom antiepileptic therapy was withdrawn without subsequent behavior changes. High-dose benzodiazepine therapy and a history of viral encephalitis may be risk factors for withdrawal delirium.