Escitalopram-induced severe akathisia leading to suicide attempt

oleh: Alok Pratap, Sayeed Akhtar, Prakriti Sinha, Ajay Kumar Bakhla

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2019-01-01

Deskripsi

Akathisia, a distressing adverse reaction, is usually underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in patients, who are treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Escitalopram-induced akathisia is rarely reported in the literature. We report a case of severe akathisia leading to a suicide attempt in a 25-year-old male induced by 5 mg of escitalopram, that remitted completely after discontinuation of escitalopram and did not reappear later. Patient and their caretakers should be warned of symptoms of akathisia even when a very low dose of SSRI is prescribed.