Catatonic symptoms after cessation can be related to withdrawal, underlying illness or both.
The two-case report described abrupt cessation after longer-term benzodiazepine treatment, followed by catatonic features. Symptoms improved quickly when benzodiazepines were re-administered. The patients had different clinical backgrounds.
Two uncontrolled cases cannot establish frequency or exclude every alternative diagnosis. Benzodiazepines also treat catatonia from causes unrelated to withdrawal, so improvement is not a specific causal test. The prior indication and symptom history matter.
For an expert timeline, document the last confirmed dose, cessation speed, symptom onset, baseline catatonia and other medicines. Separate the observed response from the mechanism proposed. The report supports a possible discontinuation-associated syndrome without proving that every post-cessation motor or behavioral change has that explanation.
Source reviewed: Benzodiazepine withdrawal catatonia Two cases from a tertiary care center in Eastern India (PMC9255623). Forensic applications above are interpretive analysis of the supplied publication.
Related reading: Intramuscular Premedication Comparisons Require the Anesthetic Context.