A Case of ChroniC Mania in a Patient with A Double Diagnosis of Bipolar I and Delusional Disorders

Abstract

The authors describe the case of a 62 year old woman without any significant personal or family psychiatric history prior to being 52, when after a minor head trauma occurring during worktime, she started showing delusional ideas of hypochondri- ac and somatic content believing to have developed a “problem in the head”. Two years later she was admitted to a Psychiatric inpatient unit and diagnosed with a delusional disorder of the somatic subtype. At discharge she maintained the delusional ideas, which, however, were encapsulated from her personality and quiescent, while exhibiting no insight into her psychopatho- logical state. Very shortly thereafter, at follow-up in the outpatient clinic, she stopped all drug therapy (oral antipsychotic drugs). One year later, she was readmitted to the inpatient unit upon worsening of the hypochondriac and somatic delusional ideas. The prescribed medication was switched to depot injection, which she also stopped shortly thereafter. Three years later, being 58 years of age, she began to show manic symptoms of crescendo severity (grandiose delusion-like ideas, elated mood, overactivity, disinhibition, acceleration of thinking, reduced need for sleep and increased pres- sure of speech). This clinical condition gets worse, with persecutory delusional ideas and complex auditory hallucinations and she was admitted to the inpatient unit once more. This time she presents a full manic episode and a Bipolar I affective disorder diagnosis was made. She had a hyperthymic pre-morbid temperament. For the next 4 years, the patient remained somewhat stable with elation of mood, grandiose ideas, increased pressure of speech, eccen- tric clothing and lack of insight to her psychopathological state. Since the beginning of follow up, the patient always kept poor treatment compliance. The authors discuss the evolution and clinical significance of a particular and infrequent type of Bipolar Disorder, chronic mania.