The risk of early suicide and diagnostic issues in Cotard's syndrome associated to self-starvation

Abstract: Background and objective: Cotard's syndrome is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which the patient holds nihilistic delusions concerning his/ her own existence, including the conviction of being dead or having lost parts of the body. There are occasional reports of Cotard's syndrome being accompanied by nutritional deficiencies or self-starvation. Methods: The authors describe the peculiar case of a 40-year-old man who developed severe malnutrition within a few months. At first, a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa was made. The man was admitted to the hospital where other significant psychopathological symptoms emerged. Results: One of the consequences of Cotard's syndrome is self-starvation be-cause of negation of existence of self. The presented case points out that, although Cotard's syndrome has been reported to be associated with various organic conditions and other forms of psychopathology, loss of appetite and nutritional deficits can erroneously lead to mistake this diagnosis for anorexia nervosa, thus underestimating the high risk of these patients of committing suicide following hospital discharge. Conclusion: Taking into account its rarity and possible subdiagnosis, as a distinct clinical entity the aim of this case report is to emphasize that these patients may initially be addressed to general practitioners, due to the dysmetabolic consequences of malnutrition, rather than to psychiatrists. An early recognition of signs indicative of Cotard's syndrome can be vital to prevent the situation from worsening. In fact, missed diagnoses can put these patients at an higher risk of suicidal behaviour.