ALTERED BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN CATATONIA: A SHORT TERM EVALUATION

Abstract

BACKGROUND Catatonia, a bizarre psychomotor syndrome, which was earlier considered as a manifestation of schizophrenia, is now often seen in patients with mania, depression and many other medical condtions. It has been a matter of debate for several decades, whether catatonia is a separate disease entity or a manifestation of different psychiatric or medical disorder. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In our study, we tried to evaluate and compare the altered biochemical parameters in different conditions of catatonia. This hospital based cross-sectional observational study was conduc METHODS ted in a tertiary care hospital in Guwahati, Assam for a period of 1year from May2021 to April2022 after obtaining clearance from Institutional Ethical Committee(H) of the institution. Total 50 cases of catatonia fullling the selection criteria were included in the study. Bush Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) was used to quantify different conditions of catatonia. The biochemical parameters that were altered RESULTS in majority of the catatonia patients were CPK (increased in 98%patients), haemoglobin(low in 64%patients) and serum iron(low in 54%patients). Statistically signicant difference with the highest mean CPK (514.86) was found in schizophrenia while the lowest mean CPK value(254.54) was found in organic catatonia patients. CONCLUSION Although, there is no specic test for catatonia, laboratory studies provide insight into the pathogenesis of catatonia and has diagnostic and therapeutic implications.