Neuroinfection or Suicide Attempt? Difficult Diagnosis If Lack of Anamnesis

ABSTRACT

Neuroinfection often begins with nonspecific symptoms followed by respiratory and circulatory systems failure, seizures, and loss of consciousness. On the other hand, central nervous system depression may be caused by overdose of medications and without pre-hospital history it may be difficult to diagnose appropriately. We report on a case of a teenager who attempted suicide with an overdose of olanzapine. She ingested 150 mg, which caused neuroinfection-like symptoms. She was treated with an initial diagnosis of encephalitis. Dynamically changing clinical status finally guided attending physicians to a suspicion of a suicide attempt. Based on this case we stress that a clear history of suicidal overdose ingestion is important for quick and appropriate treatment.

KEYWORDS:

• encephalitis
• olanzapine overdose
• suicidal attempt

Acknowledgments

The Ethics Committee of the Medical University of Lublin (KE-0254/152/2014) and the patient's parent informed consents were obtained. None of the authors was given a grant or other form of payment to produce this manuscript. We declare no financial, ethical, or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest.