Aripiprazole-Induced Orofacial Dyskinesia in a Young Male: A Case Report

We report the case of a 23-year-old man who developed orofacial dyskinesia secondary to aripiprazole whilst being treated for psychosis in the hospital. He was known to mental health services and had suffered a relapse of bipolar affective disorder. Upon cessation of aripiprazole and commencement of quetiapine, there was a rapid reversal of his movement disorder. He also did not have any notable risk factors associated with developing orofacial dyskinesia beyond having an affective disorder, which highlights the unusual and rare occurrence of this side effect with the use of aripiprazole. Unlike many first-generation antipsychotics, aripiprazole had been previously reported to be protective against and also treat extrapyramidal side effects (EPSE) due to its mixed mechanism of action, which includes being a partial dopamine receptor 2 (DR2) agonist.