By Stephanie Barber, MD
PGY3 Psychiatry
University of Virginia
30 – Management of Treatment-Resistant Catatonia Presenting within a First Psychotic Episode in an Adolescent Patient
Stephanie Barber, MD, MPH; Vishal Madaan, MD, MBBS; Bruce Cohen, MD
The Fall PSV meeting was engaging and felt like a return to normalcy, with in-person presentations and poster sessions, during these pandemic times. There was a great turn out, with representation from all over the state, with diverse pathology presented and good networking opportunities at all levels.
I presented a poster on treatment resistant catatonia in an adolescent patient experiencing her first psychotic break. The case itself had been both engaging and challenging for various reasons. I thought it was important to highlight some of the barriers to accessing a higher level of care for treatment resistant catatonia, particularly ECT, in child and adolescent populations due to human rights protections and limited access to multiple independent child psychiatrist evaluators. It was important in this case to provide timely access to this treatment given the prognostic implications of such severe illness presenting so early in life, and during a first psychotic break, no less.
Among our cohort from UVA, we had a great turn out with representation of other interesting pathology and thoughtful considerations for good psychiatric management. The conference was overall a great experience!
