A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?

Paul Schneider1, Vicki A Nejtek2,3, Cheryl Hurd2,31Green Oaks Behavioral Health Care Services, Dallas, 2University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, 3John Peter Smith Health Network, Fort Worth, Texas, USAAbstract: Demyelination is a hallmark of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM). Ne...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Schneider P, Nejtek VA, Hurd CL
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Dove Medical Press 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/b46f81a29c4941acb6990f029589f093
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:b46f81a29c4941acb6990f029589f093
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:b46f81a29c4941acb6990f029589f0932021-12-02T05:28:23ZA case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?1176-63281178-2021https://doaj.org/article/b46f81a29c4941acb6990f029589f0932012-02-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.dovepress.com/a-case-of-mistaken-identity-alcohol-withdrawal-schizophrenia-or-centra-a9189https://doaj.org/toc/1176-6328https://doaj.org/toc/1178-2021Paul Schneider1, Vicki A Nejtek2,3, Cheryl Hurd2,31Green Oaks Behavioral Health Care Services, Dallas, 2University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, 3John Peter Smith Health Network, Fort Worth, Texas, USAAbstract: Demyelination is a hallmark of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM). Neuropsychiatric manifestations of this condition include weakness, quadriplegia, pseudobulbar palsy, mood changes, psychosis, and cognitive disturbances. These psychiatric symptoms are also associated with schizophrenia and alcohol withdrawal. Thus, it is clinically relevant to differentiate between CPM, schizophrenia, and alcohol withdrawal as the treatment and prognostic outcomes for each diagnosis are distinct. We present a series of events that led to a misdiagnosis of a patient admitted to the medical emergency center presenting with confusion, psychomotor agitation, and delirium who was first diagnosed with schizophrenia and alcohol withdrawal by emergency medical physicians and later discovered by the psychiatric consult team to have CPM. With a thorough psychiatric evaluation, a review of the laboratory results first showing mild hyponatremia (127 mmol/L), subsequent hypernatremia (154 mmol/L), and magnetic resonance brain imaging, psychiatrists concluded that CPM was the primary diagnosis underlying the observed neuropsychopathology. This patient has mild impairments in mood, cognition, and motor skills that remain 12 months after her emergency-center admission. This case report reminds emergency clinicians that abnormal sodium metabolism can have long-term and devastating psychopathological and neurological consequences. Differentiating between CPM, schizophrenia, and alcohol withdrawal using neuroimaging techniques and preventing the risks for CPM using slow sodium correction are paramount.Keywords: MRI, alcohol, schizophrenia, central pontine myelinolysis, hyponatremiaSchneider PNejtek VAHurd CLDove Medical PressarticleNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571Neurology. Diseases of the nervous systemRC346-429ENNeuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, Vol 2012, Iss default, Pp 49-54 (2012)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
RC321-571
Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
RC346-429
spellingShingle Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
RC321-571
Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
RC346-429
Schneider P
Nejtek VA
Hurd CL
A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
description Paul Schneider1, Vicki A Nejtek2,3, Cheryl Hurd2,31Green Oaks Behavioral Health Care Services, Dallas, 2University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, 3John Peter Smith Health Network, Fort Worth, Texas, USAAbstract: Demyelination is a hallmark of central pontine myelinolysis (CPM). Neuropsychiatric manifestations of this condition include weakness, quadriplegia, pseudobulbar palsy, mood changes, psychosis, and cognitive disturbances. These psychiatric symptoms are also associated with schizophrenia and alcohol withdrawal. Thus, it is clinically relevant to differentiate between CPM, schizophrenia, and alcohol withdrawal as the treatment and prognostic outcomes for each diagnosis are distinct. We present a series of events that led to a misdiagnosis of a patient admitted to the medical emergency center presenting with confusion, psychomotor agitation, and delirium who was first diagnosed with schizophrenia and alcohol withdrawal by emergency medical physicians and later discovered by the psychiatric consult team to have CPM. With a thorough psychiatric evaluation, a review of the laboratory results first showing mild hyponatremia (127 mmol/L), subsequent hypernatremia (154 mmol/L), and magnetic resonance brain imaging, psychiatrists concluded that CPM was the primary diagnosis underlying the observed neuropsychopathology. This patient has mild impairments in mood, cognition, and motor skills that remain 12 months after her emergency-center admission. This case report reminds emergency clinicians that abnormal sodium metabolism can have long-term and devastating psychopathological and neurological consequences. Differentiating between CPM, schizophrenia, and alcohol withdrawal using neuroimaging techniques and preventing the risks for CPM using slow sodium correction are paramount.Keywords: MRI, alcohol, schizophrenia, central pontine myelinolysis, hyponatremia
format article
author Schneider P
Nejtek VA
Hurd CL
author_facet Schneider P
Nejtek VA
Hurd CL
author_sort Schneider P
title A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
title_short A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
title_full A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
title_fullStr A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
title_full_unstemmed A case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
title_sort case of mistaken identity: alcohol withdrawal, schizophrenia, or central pontine myelinolysis?
publisher Dove Medical Press
publishDate 2012
url https://doaj.org/article/b46f81a29c4941acb6990f029589f093
work_keys_str_mv AT schneiderp acaseofmistakenidentityalcoholwithdrawalschizophreniaorcentralpontinemyelinolysis
AT nejtekva acaseofmistakenidentityalcoholwithdrawalschizophreniaorcentralpontinemyelinolysis
AT hurdcl acaseofmistakenidentityalcoholwithdrawalschizophreniaorcentralpontinemyelinolysis
AT schneiderp caseofmistakenidentityalcoholwithdrawalschizophreniaorcentralpontinemyelinolysis
AT nejtekva caseofmistakenidentityalcoholwithdrawalschizophreniaorcentralpontinemyelinolysis
AT hurdcl caseofmistakenidentityalcoholwithdrawalschizophreniaorcentralpontinemyelinolysis
_version_ 1718400370878709760