Venlafaxine induced akathisia: a case report

Venlafaxine is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor used for the management of depression and anxiety disorders. The drug has been rarely reported to be associated with the development of akathisia. A review of the literature revealed only three such case reports. In this report we present the case of a middle-aged female, who developed akathisia while receiving venlafaxine (225 mg/day). The patient was suffering from recurrent depressive disorder and Crohn's disease. She was earlier treated with Cap venlafaxine up to 75 mg/day, but had a relapse of depressive symptoms when an attempt was made to taper off venlafaxine. When she presented to us, her depressive symptoms amounted to severe depression without psychotic symptoms. In view of the past response to venlafaxine, she was restarted on venlafaxine, but did not achieve remission of symptoms with the earlier dose and hence, venlafaxine was increased up to 225 mg/day. Within 48 h of increasing venlafaxine to 225 mg/day, she developed akathisia, which subsided after stopping venlafaxine.