Catatonic syndrome in a general psychiatric inpatient population: frequency, clinical presentation, and response to lorazepam.

In a prospective open trial conducted on a general psychiatric ward, the authors diagnosed catatonic syndrome 15 times in 12 patients over a 1-year period. These 12 patients represented 9% of all admissions. The following signs were present in two thirds or more of the episodes studied: immobility (100%), staring (92%), mutism (85%), withdrawal/refusal to eat (78%), posturing/grimacing (73%), and rigidity (66%). Other signs of catatonia were …