CASE Sleepless, hallucinating
Mr. F, age 30, is brought to the emergency department (ED) by his brother, with whom he has been living for the last 2 days; his brother says that Mr. F’s wife is afraid of her husband and concerned about her children’s safety. Mr. F has been talking to himself, saying “odd things,” and has an unpredictable temper. He claims that his long-deceased father is alive and telling him “to move to a land that he brought [sic] for him.” In order to follow his father’s instructions, Mr. F says he wants to “see the ambassador so he can get his passport ready.” He also believes his wife and children are intruders in his home. Although he had never smoked before, Mr. F has started smoking ≥2 packs of cigarettes per day, sometimes smoking a pack in 30 minutes. He has not eaten or slept for the last 2 days and lies awake in bed all night staring at the ceiling and smiling to himself.
On examination, Mr. F is short with a slight build and has large, dark eyes, disheveled, short, brown hair, and a scraggly beard. English is not his first language, and he speaks with a thick Eastern European accent. His speech is latent, monotonous, tangential, and illogical. He is alert, oriented only to his person, and says he is 21 or 27 years old and at the hospital for “smoking medication and that’s it.” Despite immigrating to the United States 8 years ago, Mr. F claims he has spent his whole life “here,” although he is unsure of exactly where that is. Cognition and memory are impaired. Regarding his wife and 5 children, he says, “I am a virgin. How then can I have children? That woman is abusing me by forcefully entering my house with 5 kids.” He is fidgety, appears anxious, and does not make eye contact with the examiner during the interview. He is suspicious and irritable. Initial medical workup in the ED is negative.
EVALUATION Labs and observation
Because Mr. F had delusions and hallucinations for the past 2 days and the initial medical workup was negative, brief psychotic disorder is suspected.1 He is admitted to a secure psychiatric floor for further evaluation. He has no documented medical history. A thorough medical workup for a cause of his hallucinations and delusions, including EEG and brain MRI, is negative. Additional collateral interviews with Mr. F’s wife and brother at a family meeting indicate Mr. F had a slow onset of symptoms that began 4 to 5 years ago. Initially, he became isolated, withdrawn, inactive, and had poor sleep. Recently, he also had become suspicious, irritable, delusional, and hallucinatory. Mr. F used to work full-time in construction, then began working intermittently in a warehouse as a day laborer, but has not worked for the last few months. He used to be an involved father and reliable partner, helping with household chores and caring for the children. However, for the last few months, he had become increasingly apathetic and isolated.
During the comprehensive workup for psychosis, Mr. F’s symptoms continue. He is disoriented; although it is 2015, he states it is “2007… I carry a cell phone so I don’t need to know.” On July 31, he is told the date, and for several days after that, he states that it is July 31. When asked his birth date, he looks at his hospital wrist ID. His affect is flat, but he states he feels “fine” and smiles at inappropriate times. He answers open-ended questions briefly, with irrelevant or illogical answers after long pauses, or not at all. His eye contact is poor; he seems preoccupied with internal stimuli, and it is difficult to keep his attention.