Psychiatrists and other physicians are usually familiar with factitious disorders, but attorneys and judges usually are not. Cases involving factitious disorders may enter the civil legal system in a number of ways and cause incorrect judgements, financial costs, and inappropriate medical care if these disorders are not identified. Psychiatric consultants may play a key role in identifying thes...

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...

Fifteen families are described in which one or more child incurred factitious illness abuse as a result of the father's false story and actions. The degree of direct physical harm, and the chance of death, was high in those families in which the father had Munchausen syndrome or marked somatising disorder. Eleven children died and another six survived repetitive smothering or poisoning. Althoug...