A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male
Panic disorder can be misdiagnosed as epilepsy and vice versa, which, in turn, can impact the patient, their family, and the healthcare system. Here, we describe a rare case of a 22-year-old male with a 9-year history of misdiagnosed drug-resistant epilepsy. On presentation to our hospital, the pati...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Saudi Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sjmms.net/article.asp?issn=1658-631X;year=2023;volume=11;issue=2;spage=175;epage=177;aulast=Alyami |
| _version_ | 1797773670083461120 |
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| author | Hussain Alyami |
| author_facet | Hussain Alyami |
| author_sort | Hussain Alyami |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Panic disorder can be misdiagnosed as epilepsy and vice versa, which, in turn, can impact the patient, their family, and the healthcare system. Here, we describe a rare case of a 22-year-old male with a 9-year history of misdiagnosed drug-resistant epilepsy. On presentation to our hospital, the patient's physical examination and other investigations were unremarkable. The attacks were reported to last for about 5–10 minutes and were related to interfamilial distress. He reported feeling anxious about having an attack, experiencing palpitations and sweating before and during episodes, feeling chest tightness, derealization, and fearing loss of control, based on which a diagnosis of panic disorder was made. The patient was treated with 12 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy, following which all his antiepileptic medications were stopped over 8 weeks. The dose of sertraline was increased and maintained at 200 mg once daily and was gradually stopped after 6 months of remission. This case highlights that panic disorder should be considered as a differential diagnosis of epilepsy. This can be done through a cross-specialty referral, especially given that the clinical manifestations of hyperventilation syndrome can be diagnosed differently by neurologists, psychiatrists, and other specialists. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:08:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d84794683e842a19e71c734e78683ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1658-631X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:08:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Saudi Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-3d84794683e842a19e71c734e78683ed2023-07-23T16:14:32ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsSaudi Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences1658-631X2023-01-0111217517710.4103/sjmms.sjmms_313_22A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young maleHussain AlyamiPanic disorder can be misdiagnosed as epilepsy and vice versa, which, in turn, can impact the patient, their family, and the healthcare system. Here, we describe a rare case of a 22-year-old male with a 9-year history of misdiagnosed drug-resistant epilepsy. On presentation to our hospital, the patient's physical examination and other investigations were unremarkable. The attacks were reported to last for about 5–10 minutes and were related to interfamilial distress. He reported feeling anxious about having an attack, experiencing palpitations and sweating before and during episodes, feeling chest tightness, derealization, and fearing loss of control, based on which a diagnosis of panic disorder was made. The patient was treated with 12 sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy, following which all his antiepileptic medications were stopped over 8 weeks. The dose of sertraline was increased and maintained at 200 mg once daily and was gradually stopped after 6 months of remission. This case highlights that panic disorder should be considered as a differential diagnosis of epilepsy. This can be done through a cross-specialty referral, especially given that the clinical manifestations of hyperventilation syndrome can be diagnosed differently by neurologists, psychiatrists, and other specialists.http://www.sjmms.net/article.asp?issn=1658-631X;year=2023;volume=11;issue=2;spage=175;epage=177;aulast=Alyamiclinical reasoningcognitive biasdifferential diagnosisepilepsymisdiagnosispanic attackspanic disorder |
| spellingShingle | Hussain Alyami A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male Saudi Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences clinical reasoning cognitive bias differential diagnosis epilepsy misdiagnosis panic attacks panic disorder |
| title | A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male |
| title_full | A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male |
| title_fullStr | A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male |
| title_full_unstemmed | A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male |
| title_short | A case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male |
| title_sort | case of panic disorder misdiagnosed as epilepsy for 9 years in a young male |
| topic | clinical reasoning cognitive bias differential diagnosis epilepsy misdiagnosis panic attacks panic disorder |
| url | http://www.sjmms.net/article.asp?issn=1658-631X;year=2023;volume=11;issue=2;spage=175;epage=177;aulast=Alyami |
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