THE ESSENTIAL
- A hallucination is defined by an erroneous perception of a stimulus, which does not exist.
- A distinction is made between sensory hallucinations and psychic hallucinations.
According to a case study reported in the journal BMC Psychiatrya patient suffered from auditory hallucinations following the ingestion of antibiotics, believing he heard the voice of God.
“Chosen for a special mission”
The 50-year-old initially went to hospital for treatment for pneumonia, for which he was prescribed a combination of common antibiotics: amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. His respiratory problems not disappearing, the patient was again consulted and put on another antibiotic, clarithromycin.
“Two days after the second prescription of antibiotics, family members noted a gradual change in his behavior, with an unusual tendency to talk a lot and more pronounced irritability than usual,” write the doctors in the BMC Psychiatry. The 50-year-old also suddenly started doing a lot of sport, feeling “to be in contact with God”, pursue health professionals. More specifically, he recounted having “felt dying” and said “to hear God confide in him that he had been chosen for a special mission”.
The delusional episode disappears in less than twelve hours
Since the patient had no psychiatric history or problems with drug or alcohol addiction, doctors decided to discontinue treatment with antibiotics, a class of medication he was taking for the first time. In less than twelve hours, the delusional episode subsided. “We then considered this event to be a probable adverse effect of clarithromycin”, explain the doctors.
As the lung infection was still there, the caregivers decided to put the patient back on the first combination of antibiotics, which triggered the same delusional episode. “Presumably, the patient presented psychiatric symptoms on two occasions, with two different antibiotics”, conclude the doctors, surprised.