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Perimenstrual psychiatric hospitalization: case report and literature review

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Abstract

Despite the fact that menstrual psychosis has been described since the eighteenth century, there are only about 80 cases reported in the literature. The knowledge and awareness about the disorder remain poor, leading to inaccurate diagnoses and suboptimal treatment. This is the case of a 25-year-old woman with recurrent hospitalizations for mental status changes including psychotic phenomena and catatonia that appeared to follow a cyclical pattern that correlated with her menstrual periods, with complete symptom resolution and return to her usual level of functioning between episodes despite continued treatment with antipsychotic medications. This pattern remitted only after hormonal therapy was initiated. Through this case report, the authors review the literature on the menstrual psychoses, exemplified by this case, and discuss treatment options and prognosis. Menstrual psychosis is an underrecognized condition where psychotic symptoms recur cyclically with menses. Given the poor response that this entity shows to antipsychotic treatment, hormonal therapies have a prominent role.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Heather Burrell Ward & Marcela Almeida

  2. Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    James A. Greenberg

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  1. Heather Burrell Ward
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  2. James A. Greenberg
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  3. Marcela Almeida
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Correspondence to Heather Burrell Ward.

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The patient provided verbal consent for this case report.

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Ward, H.B., Greenberg, J.A. & Almeida, M. Perimenstrual psychiatric hospitalization: case report and literature review. Arch Womens Ment Health 23, 141–147 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-019-00967-3

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