Although catatonia was conceptualized as a subtype of schizophrenia, it is now recognized to occur most commonly in the course of other psychiatric disorders, in drug-induced disorders [1] or neurologic conditions [2]. Catatonia is rarely seen together with OCD and there are a limited number of case reports in the literature [3,4].

We describe the case of a 12 year boy who presented in our clinic with mutism, negativism, immobility, social withdrawn, rigid posture, refusal to eat.

We performed a thorough psychiatric diagnostic assessment of the child as well as laboratory tests and MRI of the brain.

The child's first symptoms appeared 2 years ago: initially the child became socially withdrawn, spent most of time at his room, and became preoccupied with rituals of hand washing, walking back and forth, preoccupations with food contamination, became aggressive if someone would interrupt what he was doing, stopped going at school, and stopped calling his parents “mother” or “father”. Brain MRI showed lateral ventricular asymmetry and suboccipital cyst.

The child was put on therapy with lorazepam and sertraline. His obsessive-compulsive symptoms improved, and the apparent catatonic like features resolved and did not return over follow-up.

Catatonia is not uncommon among children and adolescents, and the relationship between OCD and catatonia is still misunderstood, but it may be an indicator of the severity of the OCD.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.