Monsters in the closet: Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

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 fabrication of subjective complaints to self-inflicted conditions and exaggeration or exacerbation of preexisting medical disorders. Motivations for this bizarre behavior continue to puzzle both medical and mental health professionals, but patients have in common a profound psychological need to assume the sick role and do so in the absence of external incentives for the behavior, such as economic Laura Criddle, RN, PhD, ACNS-BC, CCRN, CCNS Monsters in the Closet: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Pediatric Care