Catatonia guideline

This guideline has been produced in the absence of a prior NHS Lothian protocol or guidance document regarding the identification and management of catatonia. A core source of information for the guideline has been the 2023 paper: “Evidence-based consensus guidelines for the management of catatonia: recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology” . We have also consulted a number of specialties and stakeholders locally.

This guideline is accompanied by a companion 'Catatonia Bundle', which is a practical step-by-step guide for individual patients, and can be completed much like the delirium ‘TIME Bundle’. We have also gathered useful resources and paperwork in the ‘Catatonia Hub’ on the NHS Lothian intranet. Finally, there is also a new Trak backslash – \catatonia – which is intended to be used within structured ward round reviews to aid documentation and consideration of important elements of management.

We would expect that the primary users of this content will be psychiatrists, but the content is relevant to all others providing care and working with patients with catatonia, wherever the setting.

Please note that some links in this catatonia guideline can only be accessed by NHS Lothian staff.

Please click here to access a pdf version of the Catatonia guideline.