Postictal psychosis and aripiprazole treatment in an adolescent with epilepsy and mild mental retardation: case report

In patients with epilepsy, psychotic symptoms are divided into three groups as ictal, interictal and postictal according to their occurence time. In this case, 16 years-old boy who had an intracranial hemorrhage when he is 1.5 months-old followed up in the pediatric neurology department with epilepsy; in the last three weeks, after the epileptic seizures visual-auditory halucinations, persecution, delusions and disorganized behavior detected. Patient's epilepsy treatment is reorganized by pediatric neurology department but because of persistent psychotic symptoms and seizures he is consulted to child and adolescent psychiatry. According to patient's psychiatric and psychometric examination, aripirazole 2.5 mg/day was started, after three days the dose increased to 5 mg/day and at the end of one week the dose increased to 7.5 mg/day. After 10 days at the first polyclinic control, despite the existing seizures, the psychotic symptoms and disorganized behavior disappeared. In the literature case reports about some antipsychotic drugs used for treating postictal psychosis symptoms are reported but there is no information about aripiprazole treatment. This point makes this case important.