Neuroleptic malignant syndrome: Possible relationship between neuroleptic treatment and smoking cessation

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We report the case of M., a schizophrenic patient who was treated with high doses of antipsychotics for a long time allowing him to be stable for years. He then decided to give up smoking and two weeks later he suffered a syndrome diagnosed as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome with somatic complications. This caused his death two months after the start of the symptoms. We discuss the implications of smoking cessation in the origin of the syndrome due to a lower metabolism of psychotropic medications, which previously had been well tolerated. We conclude that it is important to take into account the smoking and caffeine intake of these patients, as well as other metabolic inductor or inhibitor drugs (AU)