Acute psychosis after paclitaxel infusion.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a widely used antineoplastic agent against a variety of cancers. The common side effects are myelosuppression and peripheral neurotoxicity. There have been occasional instances of central nervous system toxicity after PTX treatment though the syndrome is not well described. We report a patient undergoing treatment for laryngeal cancer who experienced mental status changes and psychosis after each cycle of PTX and carboplatin, lasting for less than a day. In a subsequent cycle excluding PTX, these symptoms did not recur.