Manic Episode Induced by Sertraline in a Patient with an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Apropos of a case we show that antidepressant drugs may cause a switch phenomenon in patients diagnosed with a psychiatric illness other than bipolar disorder. To describe a case of antidepressant-induced mania in a patient with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). X is an 18 year-old male who presented obsession with books and compulsive reading. He went to the psychiatric consultation and initiated treatment with sertraline 25mg. 24 hours later he began with soliloquies, restlessness, verbosity, increased performance of activities without purpose and persistent insomnia. After the antidepressant was removed, the manic symptoms disappeared and the patient remained euthymic. Treatment with risperidone 1 mg was established and the obsessions and compulsions partially improved. This case raises the hypothesis of a possible comorbidity between OCD and bipolar disorder.