A putative poststreptococcal case of OCD with chronic tic disorder, not otherwise specified

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1996 Dec;35(12):1684-91. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199612000-00022.

Abstract

A 12-year-old girl presented with an atypical, recurrent, increasingly treatment-resistant case of obsessive-compulsive disorder and chronic tic disorder associated with profound separation anxiety, learning difficulty, and intermittent upper respiratory symptoms. In addition to detailed reviews of history and findings from many clinical caretakers from the prior 7 years, current pediatric, psychiatric, neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and clinical laboratory data were also available. Treatment options were considered from multiple perspectives: psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, conventional pharmacotherapy, family interventions, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and learning-supportive strategies. Psychological, neuropsychiatric, and neuroimmunological formulations of etiology were considered. Subsequent treatments included supportive psychotherapy, neuroleptic augmentation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, prophylactic penicillin, and a course of six sessions of plasmapheresis over a 2-week period. The case raises questions for ongoing consideration that juxtapose dynamic, neuropsychiatric, and neuroimmunological perspectives.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Clinical Conference
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Antibiotic Prophylaxis
  • Child
  • Chronic Disease
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / immunology
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / microbiology*
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / pathology
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / therapy
  • Plasmapheresis
  • Streptococcal Infections / complications*
  • Streptococcal Infections / diagnosis
  • Streptococcal Infections / prevention & control
  • Streptococcal Infections / therapy
  • Tic Disorders / immunology
  • Tic Disorders / microbiology*
  • Tic Disorders / pathology
  • Tic Disorders / therapy