Mood disorder with psychotic symptoms and overlooked skin lesions: the strange case of Mrs. O.

Here we report the case of Mrs. O., a 57 years-old woman presenting with mood disorder with psychotic symptoms developing strange skin lesions, ultimately leading to the suspected diagnosis of varicella-zoster encephalitis. The later appearance of a post-infectious acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy further confirmed the suspect. This case stresses the importance for not discarding a priori neurological diagnoses when facing with psychiatric patients, especially when atypical details are present.