background Despite increasing scientific and clinical interest in catatonia, there is still no precise definition of this psychiatric disorder.
aim To study the relevant literature and review systematically the various rating scales that have been developed for assessing catatonia in clinical practice.
method Several searches were performed using Medline, the latest one in August 2010.
results Seven catatonia rating scales were retrieved and studied: the Modified Rogers Scale, the Rogers Catatonia Scale, the Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale (bfcrs), the Northoff Catatonia Rating Scale (ncrs), the Braunig Catatonia Scale (bcrs), the Bush-Francis Catatonia Scale- Revised version and the Kanner Scale.
conclusion Several scales are suitable for assessing catatonia in clinical practice. The bfcrs, the ncrs and the bcrs are reliable scales for use in various clinical populations in which catatonia is prevalent. For routine use in clinical practice, the scale of choice is the bfcrs because it is well-founded, reliable and easy to administer.