In many mental health settings, there has been an increasingawareness that multiple personality disorder (MPD) is far from rare. However, along with this awareness has come an increased incidence of the misdiagnosis of IPD. The misdiagnosis of AIPJ) (i.e., false positive diagnosis of MIPD) has been seen in three forms: other dissociative disorders, non-dissociative disorders, and malingering er...

responses to, or refractoriness to, standard therapy. Also, doctors are unlikely to diagnose factitious illness until all other diagnostic possibilities have been exhausted. It is highly likely that the true incidence of factitious illness is underestimated,1 partly as doctors are generally unwilling victims of deception. The term Munchausen syndrome was applied by Dr Richard Asher to a group o...

A 22-year-old female with factitious sickle cell anemia and recurrent painful crises is described. Because she had sickle cell trait and iron deficiency anemia, she could successfully feign the symptoms of homozygous sickle cell anemia. The identification of this syndrome in patients with genetic disorders is presented.

Münchhausen's syndrome (MS) is a chronic factitious disorder characterized by the intentional production of clinical symptoms without external incentive. One type of MS is factitious Cushing syndrome, an extremely rare clinical situation in which the diagnosis is challenging mainly due to interference of the exogenous medication in cortisol immunoassays. We described a 26-year-old woman who was...

BACKGROUND The literature regarding the management of factitious disorder (FD) is diverse and generally of case reports or case series. To date there has been no systematic review of the effectiveness of management techniques. METHODS Systematic review of all evidence reporting the management and subsequent outcome in FD. Data were extracted and outcomes were assessed using an adaptation of t...

Definition Munchausen syndrome is referred to by several different names, including Münchhausen syndrome, fabricated illness, and hospital addiction syndrome. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) designates this condition as “factitious disorder.” The term “factitious” describes symptoms that are artificially produced rather than the result of a natural process. Findings range from fa...

Factitious disease is defined as the intentional production (or feigning) of disease in oneself to relieve emotional distress by assuming the role of a sick person. Although the self-induction of disease is a conscious act, the underlying motivation is usually unconscious. It has been estimated that 3% to 5% of physician-patient encounters involve factitious disease. This article presents 6 cas...