Differential diagnosis of convulsions in the structure of dissociative (conversion motor) disorder and chronic postoperative hypoparathyroidism: case report and literature review

Abstract

Hypoparathyroidism is a rare disorder of mineral metabolism, characterized by hypocalcemia as a result of the absence or deficiency of parathyroid hormone. The severity of the condition of patients with this disease is associated with both acute episodes of hypocalcemia due to cardiac arrhythmias, laryngo- or bronchospasm, generalized seizures, and manifestations of long-term complications of the disease, such as kidney pathology. In some cases, the normalization of phosphorus-calcium metabolism due to standard treatment with active metabolites / analogues of vitamin D and calcium salts does not lead to a reduction in clinical symptoms, which requires differential diagnosis with other conditions, including such neuropsychiatric disorders as epileptic seizures and their equivalents, syncope, and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. We present a case report of a woman with convulsions, which developed due to dissociative (conversion motor) disorder, with chronic postoperative hypoparathyroidism, receiving standard treatment and having normo- and hypercalcemia.