title: Acute onset of steroid psychosis with very low dose of prednisolone in Sheehan's syndrome.
abstract: Corticosteroid treatment is frequently associated with psychiatric disturbances. These adverse effects are unusual with low dose of corticosteroid. We describe a patient who rapidly developed a steroid-induced psychosis with very low dose of prednisolone. A 48-year-old woman of Sheehan's syndrome was admitted to hospital with insomnia, euphoric moods and visual hallucinations. She had taken prednisolone (10 mg in the morning and 5 mg at night) for 6 days before admission. These symptoms appeared after first dose of prednisolone. A diagnosis of acute psychosis was made. After improvement of acute psychosis with discontinuation, re-administration of prednisolone at a dose of 2.5 mg per day gave rise to agitation and insomnia. She recovered completely by gradual dosage increase of short-acting corticosteroid after the discontinuation of prednisolone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: Se In
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Dong Hyeok
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ho Cheol
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Dong Jin
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Min Young
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011605:Psychoses, Substance-Induced / Q000209:etiology*; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D011239:Prednisolone; D013974:Thyroxine