Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is a form of child abuse that describes children whose parents or caregivers invent illness stories and substantiate the stories by fabricating false physical signs. Through this case report, a serial MSBP case is presented along with psychiatric evaluation of the perpetrator mother who was sent to the Forensic Psychiatric Observation Department of the Council of Forensic Medicine to assess whether she has any mental disorder. Although there are several studies on MSBP, we present this case because the perpetrator mother was caught on the camera surveillance system of the hospital while closing the nose and mouth of the victim for fabricating the illness, and she also said that she had done the same thing to her two elder children to exclude their illnesses. Her two children had died and could not be diagnosed. Moreover, we discuss the psychopathology of the perpetrators, which is a less known area of MSBP. This is a very serious form of child abuse, with a high risk of repetition, and failure to diagnose might result in the death of the child.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0253-7176.217017 | DOI Listing |
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 PDFPediatr Dermatol
December 2024
Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is extremely difficult to diagnose. A case is presented of a 17-month-old girl who repeatedly sustained cold burns caused by a spray deodorant and inflicted by her mother. A comprehensive medical investigation, including blood assessments, skin biopsies and imaging were inconclusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
October 2024
Dermatology, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, USA.
Med J Islam Repub Iran
June 2024
Department of Health Psychology, Kish International Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
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