ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the symptoms of conversion disorder in children and young adults admitted in a tertiary care hospital of Karachi
Study design: Descriptive retrospective study
Place and duration of study: Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University hospital Karachi. Case note review of all records from January 1990 to December 2009 i.e. 20 years
Methodology: We performed a case note review of all patients less than 25 years of age who had been admitted with a diagnosis of conversion disorder over a 20-year period
Results: A total of 121 case notes were reviewed out of which there were 87 females and 34 males. Motor symptoms were seen in 34.7% [n=42], followed by pseudo seizures in 24.8% [n=30] and unresponsiveness in 14% [n=17] of the patients
Conclusion: Children and young patients who were diagnosed with conversion disorder presents with variable symptoms. Like similar studies from the other countries motor symptoms were most common. The differences in presentation, stressors and duration of illness in this study enunciated a call to explore these phenomena in prospective study design