No access

Article

Published Online: March 1944

FATAL CATATONIA

OTTO BILLIG and W. T. FREEMANAuthors Info & Affiliations

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 100, Number 5

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.100.5.633

Get Access

Abstract

Fatal catatonia is considered a complication to the usual schizophrenic course. The syndrome may occur in cases of apparent health or show itself as an exacerbation during any form of schizophrenia. The heredobiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms, and the clinical course prove that this syndrome does not represent a separate schizophrenic group but merely a complication.

The symptoms are: A prodromal phase which lasts from 2 weeks to a few months and shows the usual schizophrenic pattern.

First Phase.—Increasing perplexity and intense anxiety; incoherence; extreme restlessness; a "blind drive for annihilation" and suicidal tendencies; acrocyanosis, increased blood-pressure.

Second Phase.—Motor restlessness changing to a more primitive pattern; consciousness becomes increasingly clouded; unusual hematopoietic changes of the blood; blood pressure falls; pulse is rapid and weak; pupils are dilated and react sluggishly to light; reflexes are decreased; high elevation of temperature; pronounced cyanosis; petechial hemorrhages into the tissue; sudden respiratory death or vasomotor collapse.

Autopsy Findings.—Negative except for petechial hemorrhages into the tissues, and transformation of the fatty bone marrow to the erythropoietic state.

A theory of possible "asthenic metabolic changes" due to disturbances in the hormonal-vegetative system, and its practical application were discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Get Access

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 100 • Number 5 • March 1944

Pages: 633 - 638

History

Published in print: March 1944

Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

Affiliations

OTTO BILLIG

Highland Hospital, Asheville, N. C., and the Neuropsychiatric Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, N. C.

View all articles by this author

W. T. FREEMAN

Highland Hospital, Asheville, N. C., and the Neuropsychiatric Department, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, N. C.

View all articles by this author

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format	RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks
Direct importt
Citation style
Style

Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

There are no citations for this item

View Options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR^® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

FATAL CATATONIA

Abstract

Get full access to this article