Letter to the Editor December 15, 2004

Catatonia Is a Risk Factor for Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

Brendan T. Carroll, MD; Joseph W. Y. Lee, MRCPsych, FRANZCP

J Clin Psychiatry 2004;65(12):1722-1723

Article Abstract

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Sir: We read the article by Ananth et al.1 on neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) and atypical antipsychotic drugs with great interest. We thank them for their review of 68 cases drawn from the medical literature. They identified some of the major risk factors for NMS associated with atypical antipsychotics, including the male gender, diagnosis of schizophrenia and other psychoses, mental retardation, and concurrent physical illness.