Postgraduate Researchers in Science Medicine Conference 2005: Abstracts
Catatonia in psychiatric admission units-A cross cultural comparative study
P. Chalasani; D. Healy ; K. Karthikeya; T. Parlapalli; and R. Morriss
Aim: To examine the presentation of catatonia as a neuropsychiatric syndrome among patients admitted to the two acute admission units, in different cultural settings.
Background: Catatonia is increasingly seen as a neuropsychiatric syndrome that can occur in association with a range of Neuropsychiatric disorders.
The frequency of occurrence of catatonia in non-specialist psychiatric admission units for adults in the UK is not known as is the status of catatonia as a neuropsychiatric syndrome in different cultural settings.
Methods: Study sites & Subjects: 208 (104 each) patients consecutively admitted to Hergest Unit in Bangor, N. Wales (60 days) and Institute of mental Health, Hyderabad, India (24 days) from a set date. Exclusions: Those known to suffer organic syndromes at admission and who did not complete the screening procedure.
Bush-Francis catatonia rating scale and Instrument was used to screen the patients for catatonic features following the procedure recommended by the authors. Inter-rater reliability of research psychiatrist with local psychiatrists was established.
Results: No significant difference in the incidence and presentation of catatonia on the CSI (13.5% and 15.4%) and DSM-IV criteria (9.6% and 13.5%) between the two units except that retarded forms are more common in India.
Conclusions: Catatonia is common in the admission units and socio-cultural factors do not have major influence on the occurrence of catatonia.
Padmaja Chalasani, Psychiatry, University of Liverpool
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