Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome is both rare and potentially fatal. Health clinicians need to recognize signs and symptoms and ask the right questions to make an accurate diagnosis and begin treatment. While this condition is not entirely understood, its symptoms are recognizable and typically easily resolved with little or no long-term impact to the patient when caught early. A treatment and management plan must be implemented. Pharmacotherapy has not been consistently effective in all case reports of neuroleptic malignant syndrome. In contrast, electroconvulsive therapy may be effective. A key step in the management of neuroleptic malignant syndrome is the initiation of supportive medical therapy. Statement of Learning Need Because NMS can be a life-threatening condition and is relatively infrequent, it requires timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment. Better recognition and monitoring of its symptoms by clinicians early on in the course of antipsychotic treatment is needed to reduce the number of severe cases of NMS and limit this significant source of morbidity and mortality among patients receiving antipsychotics.