Clozapine abrupt cessation fueling overlap neuroleptic malignant syndrome and serotonin syndrome with oculomotor dysfunction: a case report

Abstract

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) and Serotonin Syndrome (SS) are life-threatening conditions caused by adverse reactions to neuroleptics and antidepressant medications. The overlap of both syndromes is rare but has been described previously. Differentiating between both entities based on the clinical presentation can be difficult. We present a case of a young male patient with history of schizophrenia, admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) for septic shock, who developed NMS and SS with oculomotor dysfunction following the abrupt cessation of clozapine while still being on an antidepressant.