BACKGROUND Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), more formally known as factitious disorder imposed on another, is a form of abuse in which a caregiver deliberately produces or feigns illness in a person under his or her care so that the proxy will receive medical care that gratifies the caregiver. Although well documented in the pediatric literature, few cases of MSBP with adult proxies (MSB-AP...

Although the injection of paraffin, mineral oil, and silicon into body parts began to be described in the 19th century, similar procedures had been practiced before that time (1). Women undergo wrinkle correction and breast augmentation, whereas men seek to achieve erectile enhancement and penile enlargement (2–5). Reports on the development of subcutaneous nodules at the sites of injection abo...

Thirty-three patients who had various conversion reactions manifested by signs and symptoms involving the upper extremities were seen over a 13-year period. Factitious lymphedema, factitious ulcers, clenched fists, as well as other dysfunctional postures of the hand and upper extremity, were the most frequently recognized patterns of illness. Denial of knowledge of the cause of the physical pro...

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.

OBJECTIVE Patients with factitious disorder (FD) fabricate illness, injury or impairment for psychological reasons and, as a result, misapply medical resources. The demographic and clinical profile of these patients has yet to be described in a sufficiently large sample, which has prevented clinicians from adopting an evidence-based approach to FD. The present study aimed to address this issue ...