Psychosocial short stature with psychosis: a case report.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Our objective was to report and describe a case of psychosocial short stature in an adolescent girl with psychotic features. Psychosocial short stature is a rare condition in which emotional stress or deprivation in childhood profoundly reduces growth, leading to persistent short stature. This disorder is variably known as psychosocial dwarfism, hyperphagic short stature or maternal deprivation dwarfism. In the literature, psychosocial short stature has not been associated previously with psychosis.

CONCLUSIONS:

We formulate that our patient's short stature, developmental regression and psychotic features were culminations of insecure mother-child attachment, personal traumatic experiences, immigrant status, high family expressed emotions and social isolation. Neuropsychiatric influences were critically regarded due to our patient's fluctuations in behaviour and affect, in the setting of cortical volume loss on brain MRI. Diagnostic hypotheses included childhood disintegrative disorder or childhood-onset schizophrenia. The management plan involved inpatient family psychoeducation, a pharmacological trial with an atypical antipsychotic and community mental health service follow-up for family therapy and psychotherapy.

• Authors: Naomi Wattchow, Hsu-En Lee, Philip Brock
• Journal: Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (Australas Psychiatry) Vol. 23 Issue 1 Pg. 63-5 (Feb 2015) ISSN: 1440-1665 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 25520002 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
• Copyright: © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2014.

Chemical References

• Antipsychotic Agents

Topics

• Adolescent
• Antipsychotic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Atrophy (pathology)
• Cerebral Cortex (pathology)
• Child Behavior Disorders (complications, drug therapy, pathology, therapy)
• Developmental Disabilities (complications, drug therapy, pathology, therapy)
• Dwarfism (complications, drug therapy, pathology, therapy)
• Family Therapy
• Female
• Humans
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Neuroimaging
• Psychotherapy
• Psychotic Disorders (complications, drug therapy, pathology, therapy)