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Case Reports
. 2020 Sep-Oct;36(6):1429-1432.
doi: 10.12669/pjms.36.6.2963.

A 'benign' extrapyramidal side effect masking a life-threatening neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Reinhard Dolp  1 , Moin Ahmed Ansari  2 , Michael Chan  3 , Tariq Hassan  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

A 'benign' extrapyramidal side effect masking a life-threatening neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Reinhard Dolp et al. Pak J Med Sci. 2020 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a rare, life-threatening idiosyncratic reaction to neuroleptic medication. The use of newer antipsychotics combined with its rare incidence has made NMS seem as a complication of the past. Here we report a patient in his early 20s suffering from a psychotic disorder developing a life-threatening neuroleptic malignant syndrome on an inpatient psychiatric ward in Canada without the characteristic overt change in autonomic stability. We review the clinical characteristics to facilitate the early recognition of neuroleptic malignant syndromes and discuss why this condition still is highly relevant for practising physicians.

Keywords: Antipsychotics; EPSE; Extra-pyramidal side effects; NMS; Neuroleptic malignant syndrome; Neuroleptics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interests: The authors have no conflict of interests to report.

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