Are there still endogenous and reactive depressions? Clinical notes from a refractory Cotard Syndrome with a de novo post-ECT dissociative episode

Abstract

Cotard syndrome is a mysterious and severe disorder. Many therapeutic interventions are reported as potentially efficacious mostly when an underlying psychotic depression or melancholia is diagnosed. However, the classification of depression has long been a contentious issue. Even though the major guide for therapeutic choice is severity, the binary model between endogenous and reactive depression is still widely employed in clinical practice. These considerations impact most clearly in in-between presentations. The authors present the case of R., a 64 year old woman, who was admitted with a major depressive episode with psychotic features, captured as a Cotard-like syndrome. After a two-months inpatient period and apparent clinical remission with high dose antidepressants and antipsychotic combination, she displayed an acute worsening leading to a re-admission just a day after discharge. The management in this second admission was tortuous, due to SARS-CoV2 related contingencies, the refractoriness of the presentation and iatrogenic intercurrences. The authors expose the course and treatment options employed, while reflecting on the question endogenous v. reactive, concluding that even seemingly clear clinical presentations may resist our different conceptualizations.