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Pisa Syndrome Mistaken for Conversion in an Adolescent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Christopher G. Fichtner ,
Bradley M. Pechter  and
Thomas H. Jobe
Christopher G. Fichtner*
Affiliation:
Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, and Staff Psychiatrist, Biological Psychiatry Section (116A7), Veterans Administration Edward Hines, Jr. Hospital, Hines, Illinois 60141, USA
Bradley M. Pechter
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Thomas H. Jobe
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

We present a case of acute dystonia in an adolescent, with features that fit the description of the Pisa syndrome. The symptoms developed postoperatively, in a non-psychiatric setting, following administration of antiemetic medication, and the phenomenon was misdiagnosed as a conversion disorder. This case reinforces previous reports cautioning against misinterpretation of dystonic reactions as functional disorders, especially in children and adolescents.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 161 , Issue 6 , December 1992 , pp. 849 - 852
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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