Delusion of death in a patient with dementia: a case report

Abstract

The delusional belief one has died is a rare psychopathology. It has been described as a part of Cotard's syndrome and is associated with psychiatric and neurological illnesses. Here we present a case of a 97-year-old male patient who experienced this delusion with a background of long-standing dementia with hearing and vision impairment. There were no associated psychiatric symptoms. Ten days after the onset of the delusion he had a stroke and hemiplegia, and he passed away within a month. We discuss the presentation and analyse the related literature.