Delusional Parasitosis Treated With ECT and Clozapine: New Case Report From India

Out on PubMed, from clinicians in India, is this case report:

Treatment of Ekbom Syndrome With Clozapine and Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Singh A, Shah R, Cholera R, Mulky P.Cureus. 2022 Oct 19;14(10):e30469. doi: 10.7759/cureus.30469. eCollection 2022 Oct.PMID: 36415401 

The abstract is copied below:

Delusion of parasitosis (DP), which is also known as Ekbom syndrome, is a delusional disorder characterised by a false, fixed belief of being infested by insects or mites, despite the lack of supporting medical evidence. This disorder presents most commonly with the "Matchbox sign." DP can present as a primary or secondary delusional disorder. It can be associated with various psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia spectrum disorders, mood disorders, anxiety or substance abuse. Several organic conditions such as dementia, malignancies, vitamin deficiencies and cerebrovascular accidents can mimic symptoms of DP. Hereby, we present a case of schizophrenia in a young woman associated with DP in our inpatient care and the treatment outcome with the use of clozapine and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) regimen.


Keywords: clozapine; delusion of parasitosis; ekbom syndrome; electroconvulsive therapy (ect); schizophrenia.

The pdf is here.

The full report is here:

This is a quaintly written, barely edited, case report of delusional parasitosis, successfully treated with the combination of clozapine and ECT. Hard to know what role each component played, as they were administered simultaneously. Perhaps the best thing about the report is the reminder of what Ekbom syndrome is. And below, from Wikipedia, is a bit about Dr. Ekbom: