Background: We describe the first case of a patient with factitious disorder who closely simulated a primary immune deficiency disorder – Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID), by surreptitiously ingesting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Case description: He was treated with several expensive and potentially dangerous drugs before the diagnosis was established through collateral info...

A systematic search for all case reports and case series of adult patients with factitious disorders (FD) in the databases MEDLINE, Scopus, and PsycINFO was conducted. FD is a psychiatric disorder in which sufferers intentionally fabricate physical or psychological symptoms in order to assume the role of a patient, without any obvious gain. The clinical and demographic profile of patients with ...

Psychiatrists commonly encounter deception in the emergency department. This article presents the case of a patient who presents to the emergency department with an unusual and elaborate web of deceptions along multiple themes including feigning medical illness, multiple losses, and grandiose academic and athletic achievements. We review the clinical characteristics of pseudologia fantastica an...

The UK media has recently devoted much attention to the role of expert witnesses in child protection cases. One or two particular pediatricians who have given expert testimony have been the subject of personal vilification and professional investigation. These cases raise questions about the use of medical expert testimony when there is real uncertainty in the scientific community and the emoti...

During the last decades, symptom validity has become an important topic in the neuropsychological and psychiatric literature with respect to how it relates to malingering, factitious disorder, and somatoform complaints. We conducted a survey among neuropsychologists (N = 515) from six European countries (Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the Netherlands). We queried the respondents ...

Abuse other clinical conundrums, often remain unresolved either by investigations or by the passage of time. Management of suspected child abuse is usually shared with or handed to other professionals such as social workers or the police and, for many health staff, this loss of control and a lack of mutual trust and respect between disciplines add to their anxiety. For community based staff, wo...

The diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome by proxy is frequently difficult to document and often delayed. A unique presentation of a case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy involving insertion of factitious stones in the lower urinary tract is reported.

This case report describes a 34-year-old female patient who suffered from chronic vomiting. Different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures were noncontributory. Eventually, psychiatric interviews specified that she has a dependent, self-hurting and attention-seeking personality. She wanted to assume the "sick role". Malingering and conversion disorder were ruled out and Münchausen's syndrome w...