Pediatric Narcolepsy Masquerading as Acute Insomnia

Narcolepsy, a disorder of the borderline between wakefulness and sleep is rarely diagnosed in the pediatric population. This is despite the fact that majority of narcoleptic signs and symptoms begin in the second decade. Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis inadvertently leads to increased social and economic burden on the children and their families with interference in normal mental and physical well being and academic performance. The commonest cardinal symptom of narcolepsy is excessive daytime sleepiness. However, patients with narcolepsy have significantly disturbed sleep patterns and may have associated mood disorders. This report describes a child presenting with acute insomnia who was found to have narcolepsy.