Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology

Self mutilation responding to colchicine treatment in an adolescent with familial Mediterranean fever

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2014; 24: Supplement S214-S214
Read: 284 Published: 17 February 2021

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive auto-inşammatory disease characterized by recurrent episodes of fever and polyserositis. Here we present a 17 years old adolescent boy presented with self-cutting who was eventually diagnosed with FMF and his self-cutting was treated with colchicine successfully. He had been treated with carbamazepine 400 mg/day, paroxetine 40 mg/day, risperidone 2 mg/day and biperidene 2 mg/day in for 6 months for his self-cutting behavior. However, because no improvement was observed in self-cutting, he was referred to Istanbul Medical Faculty Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department. He was complaining of “unbearable headaches” and he claimed that he was cutting himself to relieve his pain. His headaches had a periodic pattern and he had fever in these periods. He denied having joint or stomach pain during these episodes. He was referred to pediatric department and was diagnosed with FMF. He was started colchicine treatment and his self-cutting behavior disappeared within a few weeks. His psychotropic medications gradually discontinued. He continued colchicine treatment for six months and no self-cutting observed during this time. After six months, he discontinued his colchicine despite his pediatrician’s suggestion to continue medication. After discontinuation of colchicine, self-cutting reemerged. He was advised to restart his colchicine and self-cutting disappeared again after starting colchicine.

EISSN 2475-0581