Phantosmia Followed a Perioperative Clonazepam Interruption in One Case

An unusual sensory symptom can have a medication-timing hypothesis without being diagnostically specific.

Study findings

An older patient stopped long-standing clonazepam before surgery and continued withholding it because of concern about postoperative opioid use. Insomnia and altered sensory experiences developed, including an unpleasant perceived odor. Symptoms resolved after clonazepam was restarted.

What limits the conclusion

This is one case with surgery, other medicines and changing health circumstances. Response to restarting treatment supports a hypothesis but does not exclude every neurological, psychiatric or medical cause of phantosmia.

Implications for case review

Reconcile instructions and actual use across the admission and discharge transitions. The paper cannot establish a universal withdrawal presentation or prove the cause of an unobserved symptom in another patient. The full timeline and alternative explanations are essential, rather than a symptom checklist or medication gap alone.

Source and related reading

Source: PMC12515364, supplied full-text paper. Findings are paraphrased; forensic implications are an interpretation.

Related: Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Belongs in the Differential for Catatonia, but a Review Cannot Diagnose the Case.