Catatonia is not a separate DSM diagnosis and must be coded as a specifier with another disorder or medical condition.

• A. True; Catatonia is not a separate DSM diagnosis and must be coded with another disorder or medical condition
• B. False; Catatonia is a standalone diagnosis
• C. It is always due to a medical condition
• D. It occurs only with mood disorders

Answer: (A)

Catatonia is a syndrome that can accompany a range of psychiatric and medical conditions, but it isn’t treated as its own separate DSM diagnosis. In DSM-5-5 and related editions, you document catatonia by using it as a specifier attached to an underlying disorder (such as a mood disorder or a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder) or you code it as “catatonia due to a medical condition” if a medical cause is identified. This reflects the reality that catatonia can appear with many conditions, not just mood disorders, and requires attention to the underlying context for appropriate treatment (benzodiazepines or ECT are common treatments for catatonia regardless of the associated diagnosis). Therefore, the statement is accurate: catatonia is not a standalone DSM diagnosis and is coded with another disorder or a medical condition.