Risk factors for neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal complication of antipsychotic drugs, is poorly understood. Equally poorly understood are the risk factors of neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Long-term and parenteral treatment with high doses of neuroleptic drugs are implicated as risk factors for the syndrome. Recently, attention has been drawn to the frequency of neuroleptic malignant syndrome in patients treated with a combination of haloperidol and lithium. This article reports a case in which the patient's risk factors for neuroleptic malignant syndrome included not only haloperidol and lithium but also a predisposition to substances of abuse.