Acute psychotic reactions and stress response syndromes following intramuscular aqueous procaine penicillin.

Acute non-anaphylactic reactions to procaine penicillin include fear of death, sensations of disintegration, perceived changes of body shape, and visual and auditory hallucinations. Fragments of the original reaction experience, or elaborations of it, feature prominently in a chronic syndrome which persists if the initial reaction is not supported emotionally or professionally. The cultural acceptance of the reality of 'mysterious' forces played a role in the syndrome. Compatible diagnostic labels were panic disorder, post-traumatic disorder, mixed phobic disorder, and depressive illness. The observed period prevalence rate is 5.9 per 1,000.