Amnesia or fugue state: a diagnostic dilemma

We report the case of a 16-year-old boy whose presenting symptoms were total retrograde amnesia. After finding no evidence for organic causes, including toxic-metabolic derangements, epilepsy, encephalitis, vasculitis, trauma, or CNS neoplasm, it was determined that the child experienced a psychogenic fugue state with a spontaneous recovery in memory over several days. Although rare, fugue state should be considered in the differential diagnosis of amnesia.