Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report

We present a case of acute psychosis in a patient with panhypopituitarism admitted for adrenal crisis secondary to insufficient glucocorticoid replacement. Three months prior, she was admitted for a similar episode of adrenal crisis and underwent intubation; however, at that time her mental status w...

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Main Authors: Jessica Wachtel, Jordan Resnick, Sunil Sapru
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Department of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University 2022-05-01
Series:Brown Journal of Hospital Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.26300/a6s2-w231
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author Jessica Wachtel
Jordan Resnick
Sunil Sapru
author_facet Jessica Wachtel
Jordan Resnick
Sunil Sapru
author_sort Jessica Wachtel
collection DOAJ
description We present a case of acute psychosis in a patient with panhypopituitarism admitted for adrenal crisis secondary to insufficient glucocorticoid replacement. Three months prior, she was admitted for a similar episode of adrenal crisis and underwent intubation; however, at that time her mental status was normal with no reported episodes of delirium or psychosis. After extubation, she was found to have psychotic symptoms which waxed and waned and were vaguely responsive to antipsychotics. She was ultimately stabilized and discharged, only to return three months later after missing multiple doses of her prednisone. During her current presentation, she had a recurrence of her waxing and waning mental status, which was presumed to be an organic result of her prior hypotension and anoxia vs. a primary psychotic break. In retrospect, it was largely dependent upon whether she received her scheduled steroids. Once her adrenal crisis had passed her cognition improved with daily steroid replacement and antipsychotics were unnecessary.
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spelling doaj.art-c198901290344c86ad0f9f63cf4583e72022-12-22T03:50:59ZengDepartment of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown UniversityBrown Journal of Hospital Medicine2831-55532022-05-0112Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case ReportJessica WachtelJordan ResnickSunil SapruWe present a case of acute psychosis in a patient with panhypopituitarism admitted for adrenal crisis secondary to insufficient glucocorticoid replacement. Three months prior, she was admitted for a similar episode of adrenal crisis and underwent intubation; however, at that time her mental status was normal with no reported episodes of delirium or psychosis. After extubation, she was found to have psychotic symptoms which waxed and waned and were vaguely responsive to antipsychotics. She was ultimately stabilized and discharged, only to return three months later after missing multiple doses of her prednisone. During her current presentation, she had a recurrence of her waxing and waning mental status, which was presumed to be an organic result of her prior hypotension and anoxia vs. a primary psychotic break. In retrospect, it was largely dependent upon whether she received her scheduled steroids. Once her adrenal crisis had passed her cognition improved with daily steroid replacement and antipsychotics were unnecessary.https://doi.org/10.26300/a6s2-w231
spellingShingle Jessica Wachtel
Jordan Resnick
Sunil Sapru
Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report
Brown Journal of Hospital Medicine
title Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report
title_full Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report
title_fullStr Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report
title_full_unstemmed Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report
title_short Acute Psychosis and Panhypopituitarism: A Case Report
title_sort acute psychosis and panhypopituitarism a case report
url https://doi.org/10.26300/a6s2-w231
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