Singap Med J
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Lethal catatonia (LC) is a life-threatening neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with a host of psychiatric, neurologic and medical conditions. The clinical picture is characterised by fragmented psychotic symptoms, catatonic phenomena particularly alternating stupor and agitation, altered consciousness, hyperthermia and other autonomic disturbances. A case of LC in a 19-year-old Chinese woman showing a dramatic response to lorazepam and bromocriptine is described and a brief overview of the contemporary literature is provided.
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Patients who failed to attend psychiatric outpatient follow-up were compared with a group of comprising regular attenders. There were 71 defaulters out of 1,664 appointments given during the study period. Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis. ⋯ Those solely on oral medication were more likely to default. The largest proportion gave reasons of work commitments and of not being free to attend; others claimed they had forgotten their appointments or had lost their appointment cards. Patients who said they did not come because they felt well or still had medication were cause for concern because of possible lack of insight and non-compliance with their medication.
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The aim of this paper is to study the efficacy and side-effects of fluoxetine. Fluoxetine is a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Nineteen Asian (Chinese and Indian) patients who satisfied the DSM-3R criteria for major depressive episode were treated with fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 12 weeks. ⋯ There were no significant changes in weight, temperature, blood pressure and pulse rate throughout the 12 weeks. This study showed that fluoxetine was well-tolerated and relieved the symptoms of depression effectively. Most of the results are supported by other studies.