Introduction: Munchhausen's syndrome is the best-studied type of factitious disorder with predominantly physical signs and symptoms. However, its clinical presentation during pregnancy is rare and literature on the subject is scarce.
Objective: To present a case of factitious disorder during pregnancy.
Method: Review and analysis of a clinical case.
Results: The case of a 30-year-old woman six weeks pregnant who consults on multiple occasions with emesis and abdominal pain is discussed. Various different diagnoses were considered and pathologies such as acute intermittent porphyria, narcotic bowel syndrome, abdominal epilepsy, and esophageal spasm were discarded. The patient expressed her desire to terminate the pregnancy at week 21. The pregnancy was terminated after a medical panel concluded that there were both organic and mental conditions that placed the patient's health at risk.
Conclusions: Factitious disorders are very complex and extremely challenging to the clinician especially during the initial phases. They are seldom suspected and rarely diagnosed even in hospital settings. Therefore it is of utmost importance to educate healthcare professionals in the detection of this disorder to ensure proper management and treatment.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0034-7450(14)60016-0 | DOI Listing |
J Clin Apher
February 2025
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Cureus
January 2025
Department of Neurology, Unidade Local de Saúde da Arrábida, Setúbal, PRT.
Munchausen syndrome (MS), a complex form of factitious disorder (FD), presents significant diagnostic and management challenges in emergency and hospital settings. Patients deliberately fabricate or induce symptoms to gain medical attention, often leading to unnecessary interventions, resource misallocation, and iatrogenic harm. This study highlights the diagnostic complexity and the need for multidisciplinary management of Munchausen syndrome through a detailed case report and literature review.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Paediatrics, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) or factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA) is a bizarre psychiatric entity, consisting of the fabrication of symptoms and alteration of laboratory tests by a caregiver. It is considered a serious form of child abuse. Alarm signs are frequent medical visits and strange symptoms that are never objectified during hospitalization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
January 2025
Occupational Health, Tasmanian Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Hobart, AUS.
This article introduces the evitatious phenomenon, with a proposed research criteria for behaviors induced by stress-related avoidance in occupational and psychiatric settings. Evitatious Phenomenon is characterized by a conscious desire to avoid stressors, leading to unconscious behaviors that inadvertently result in avoidance. Unlike malingering or factitious disorder, evitatious phenomenon is not marked by intentional deception but rather by an unconscious process, filling a gap in the current understanding of stress-induced behaviors.
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