Atypical presentation of childhood obsessive compulsive disorder

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. The phenomenology of OCD in children and adolescent is strikingly similar to that of adults. But at times, the presentation of OCD may be so atypical or unusual in children and adolescents that may lead to misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis. We report a case of 10-year-old child who was initially misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, and treated with antipsychotic for 2 months. But once the core symptoms were recognized as obsessions and compulsions and appropriately treated in the line of OCD, the symptoms resolved significantly.