Brief psychotic episode in a patient with chromosome 2q37 microdeletion syndrome

Abstract

A 21-year-old woman with moderate learning disability secondary to chromosome 2 microdeletion at q37 was admitted to a general adult psychiatric ward following a period of agitation with incessant pressure of speech, nihilistic delusions and worsening of sleep and eating patterns. Her presentation was preceded for a number of weeks by social stressors of an ill family member and another family member moving away. She had also been diagnosed and treated for a respiratory infection several weeks prior to presentation. Her presentation improved with low-dose antipsychotic medication and parallel input from the general adult mental health team and the psychiatry of intellectual disability team.