Haloperidol induced obsessive compulsive symptom (OCS) in a patient with learning disability and bipolar affective...

In this case report, a patient with severe learning disability and bipolar affective disorder developed de-nova obsessive compulsive symptom (OCS) with haloperidol, a conventional antipsychotic medication and the OCS stopped with stopping haloperidol. Antipsychotics are recommended and used as augmentation therapy in resistant cases of obsessive compulsive disorder. Although second generation antipsychotics have been reported to have induced OCS but haloperidol, which is a first generation antipsychotic has not been implicated in OCS induction. There is no published report of antipsychotics induced OCS in learning disability population. Clinician should be aware of this potential side effect of haloperidol.