RESUMEN
Introduction: Catatonia is a complex syndrome with multiple disorders involving behavior, mood, thought process, and themotor system. About 7–15% of inpatients in psychiatry are identified with catatonia. Published literature on the phenomenologyof catatonia in India is available only as case reports.Aim: The aim of the study was to study phenomenology, clinical profile, and diagnostic break up in patients presenting withcatatonia to our hospital.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study including 32 catatonia patients was conducted in the PsychiatryDepartment, Chengalpattu Medical College Hospital after obtaining Institutional Ethical Committee clearance. Informed consentwas obtained from the patients caretakers. Disorders and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th Edition criteria for catatoniawere used to include patients in this study. Using a semi-structured pro forma basic sociodemographic and clinical details werecollected. Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (BFCRS) was used to assess the symptoms and severity.Results: The mean age of the study population was 33.16 ± 12.28 years (range 15–60 years) with 15 males (46.8%) and17 females (53.1%). Among the catatonia patients, schizophrenia (n = 15, 50%) was the most common diagnosis after detailedevaluation. The mean BFCRS score was 27.47 ± 3.94 (range: 18–32). The commonly observed catatonic symptoms weremutism, withdrawal, staring, immobility, and negativism (100%) followed by posturing/catalepsy (97%) and rigidity (93%).Conclusion: This study has provided us with very important insights into the phenomenology, clinical profile, and diagnosticbreak up in catatonic patients following mental disorder. Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis with mutism, withdrawal,staring, immobility, and negativism being the more common symptoms.