Acute lymphocytic leukemia and psychosis: treatment with electroconvulsive therapy

This paper reports the coocurrence of paranoid psychosis and acute lymphocytic leukemia in a 16-year-old African-American male. Subsequently, he developed a neuroleptic malignant-like syndrome and several other ill-defined complications of antipsychotic therapy, which presented difficult management problems for the medical and psychiatric staff caring for him. Definitive treatment for his psychiatric disorder (ECT) involved possible interactions with his cancer chemotherapy regimen that were not clearly defined.