[Atypical panic attacks]

Panic attacks are acute episodes of severe anxiety characterized by a brutal onset and a progressive ending. When atypical, this symptomatic picture is often the cause of diagnostic errors sometimes costly in terms of clinical work-up and repeated specialized advices. Each of the classical components of panic attacks (psychological, physical, behavioural) being able to give rise to an atypical presentation, these components must be systematically evaluated. The semiological analysis of these attacks, their clinical background and their occurrence in young adults, mostly women, will contribute to the right diagnosis of these emotional reactions so frequent in general practice.