Case series reveals clinical improvement with virtual lorazepam titration in neurodevelopmental catatonia, indicating telepsychiatry is feasible for complex psychiatric care.
Key Points
To evaluate the feasibility and clinical outcomes of diagnosing and managing catatonia via telepsychiatry in patients with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.
Retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed and treated for catatonia through Ohio's Telepsychiatry Project from 2009 to present.
Extracted clinical and demographic data for N=14 patients (aged 14–69 years; 87% male) receiving virtual care.
All patients (100%) had intellectual disability and 60% presented with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder.
Primary treatment with virtually titrated lorazepam yielded clinical improvement in 71.4% of patients, reducing aggression, self-injury, and developmental regression.
A minority of patients experienced worsening psychosis during telehealth management.