Trastorno facticio en adultos: a propósito de un caso y revisión de literatura / Factitious disorder in adults: a case report and literature review

RESUMEN: El trastorno facticio consiste en falsificar, inducir o agravar las enfermedades para recibir atención médica, independientemente si están enfermas o no. El impacto que tiene esta patología va desde altos costos en salud asociado a la policonsulta, hospitalizaciones y tratamientos innecesarios; la funcionalidad y calidad de vida de estos pacientes, hasta el costo de vidas humanas. Este trastorno sigue siendo un desafío para los clínicos, puesto que no hay evidencia suficiente sobre la epidemiología, etiología, clínica y manejo dada su complejidad. En este artículo se presentará un caso clínico enfatizando en la evolución de la enfermedad, manejo inicial y posterior durante su hospitalización, junto con una actualización basada en la literatura, en torno al tratamiento de esta patología, con el fin de proponer intervenciones preventivas o protocolos que permitan evitar hospitalizaciones y tratamientos innecesarios. Luego se finalizará con la resolución del caso, pronóstico de esta enfermedad y una conclusión.

ABSTRACT Factitious disorder consists of falsifying, inducing or aggravating illnesses in order to receive medical attention, regardless of whether they are ill or not. The impact of this pathology ranges from high health costs associated with polyconsultation, hospitalizations and unnecessary treatments, the functionality and quality of life of these patients, up to the cost of human lives. This disorder continues to be a challenge for clinicians, since there is insufficient evidence on the epidemiology, etiology, clinic and management given its complexity. In this article, a clinical case will be presented, emphasizing the evolution of the disease, initial and subsequent management during hospitalization, together with an update based on the literature, on the treatment of this pathology, in order to propose preventive interventions or protocols that allow avoiding hospitalizations and unnecessary treatments. Then it ends with the resolution of the case, prognosis of this disease and a conclusion.

Insights into the clinical profile and comorbidities of factitious disorder in a multispeciality setting in southwest Nigeria: A cases series and review

Background: Factitious disorder (FD) is an under-recognized and under-diagnosed mental condition. Healthcare professionals often have challenges to diagnose and treating the disorder. As a result, needless and endless medical resources are recommended to assess and evaluate those affected. FD may present as a physical condition, a psychological disorder, or maybe both depending on the prominent symptoms. However, there is a strong correlation between having FD and psychiatric symptoms. Main Text: FD occurs in early adulthood, with a mean age of onset of 25 years in both genders, although with differing demographic features. The lifetime prevalence of FD imposed on oneself in clinical settings is 1.0%, 0.1% in the overall population (ranging between 0.007% and 8.0%) and occurs more in female health care professionals. FD may make up 0.6%­3.0% of psychiatric referrals, and it accounts for 3-5% of doctor-patient contacts. In actuality, 1-2% of hospital admissions and an average of 6-8% of all psychiatric admissions have been underreported. The study aimed to highlight the signs and symptoms of FD identified in a psychiatry department of a multispecialty center and to increase the awareness of health practitioners. A critical review of the literature was done with an emphasis on psychological symptoms. PubMed, Mendeley, and Google Scholar were thoroughly searched and full-text publications of journals from 2010-2021 were included. Conclusion: FD is a diagnostic puzzle that necessitates adequate, prompt medical attention as well as social support because of the potentially fatal consequence. A stronger patient-therapist relationship can strengthen the patient's conscious self-control to minimize the symptoms; therefore the healthcare provider has to be openminded. For the diagnostic enigma to be removed and for ease of treatment, additional research, increasing awareness among medical professionals and the general public, accurate evaluation, diagnosis, and psychotherapy should be encouraged. These case studies will contribute to the knowledge base of FD and improve the quality of care.

Severe hypokalemia secondary to abuse of ß-adrenergic agonists in a pediatric patient: Case report / Hipocalemia grave secundária a abuso de agonistas ß-adrenérgicos em paciente pediátrico: relato de caso

ABSTRACT This study reports a case of a 13-year-old male with a 3-year history of severe and intermittent hypokalemia episodes of unknown origin, requiring admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) for long QT syndrome (LQTS), finally diagnosed of redistributive hypokalemia secondary to the abuse of β-adrenergic agonists in the context of a probable factitious disorder.

RESUMO O presente estudo relata o caso de um jovem de 13 anos de idade com histórico, há três anos, de episódios de hipocalemia grave intermitente de origem desconhecida, internado em unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) por síndrome do QT longo (SQTL). O paciente foi diagnosticado com hipocalemia por redistribuição secundária ao abuso de agonistas β-adrenérgicos, em contexto de provável transtorno factício.

Los simuladores: verdad y poder en la psiquiatría de José Ingenieros / The simulators: truth and power in the psychiatry of José Ingenieros

Resumen Tomando como punto de partida el curso de Michel Foucault “El poder psiquiátrico”, se analiza el libro Simulación de la locura, publicado en 1903 por el psiquiatra argentino José Ingenieros. Foucault afirma que el problema de la simulación recorre transversalmente toda la historia de la psiquiatría moderna. Inicialmente se analizan las referencias que José Ingenieros dedica a la cuestión de la simulación en la lucha por la vida, para luego abordar la temática de la simulación en los estados patológicos en general y, por fin, la simulación de la locura y la problemática de la degeneración. Ingenieros participa de esa lucha epistemológica y política que se establece entre peritos-psiquiatras y simuladores en torno a la cuestión de la verdad.

Abstract Using Michel Foucault’s lectures on “Psychiatric power” as its starting point, this article analyzes the book Simulación de la locura (The simulation of madness), published in 1903 by the Argentine psychiatrist José Ingenieros. Foucault argues that the problem of simulation permeates the entire history of modern psychiatry. After initial analysis of José Ingenieros’s references to the question of simulation in the struggle for existence, the issue of simulation in pathological states in general is examined, and lastly the simulation of madness and the problem of degeneration. Ingenieros participates in the epistemological and political struggle that took place between experts-psychiatrists and simulators over the question of truth.

Verbal learning on depressive pseudodementia: accentuate impairment of free recall, moderate on learning processes, and spared short-term and recognition memory / Aprendizagem verbal na pseudodemencia depressiva: comprometimento acentuado da evocacao livre, moderado nos processos de aprendizagem e preservacao da memoria de curto prazo e reconhecimento

Objective Depressive pseudodementia (DPD) is a clinical condition characterized by depressive symptoms followed by cognitive and functional impairment characteristics of dementia. Memory complaints are one of the most related cognitive symptoms in DPD. The present study aims to assess the verbal learning profile of elderly patients with DPD. Methods Ninety-six older adults (34 DPD and 62 controls) were assessed by neuropsychological tests including the Rey auditory-verbal learning test (RAVLT). A multivariate general linear model was used to assess group differences and controlled for demographic factors. Results Moderate or large effects were found on all RAVLT components, except for short-term and recognition memory. Conclusion DPD impairs verbal memory, with large effect size on free recall and moderate effect size on the learning. Short-term storage and recognition memory are useful in clinical contexts when the differential diagnosis is required. .

Objetivo A pseudodemência depressiva (PDD) é uma condição clínica onde sintomas depressivos são acompanhados por comprometimento cognitivo e funcional característicos da demência. Queixas de memória são um dos sintomas mais comumente relatados na PDD. O presente estudo almeja investigar a aprendizagem verbal de pacientes idosos com PDD. Método 96 idosos (34 PDD e 62 controles) realizaram testes neuropsicológicos incluindo o Teste de Aprendizagem Auditivo-Verbal de Rey (RAVLT). Adotou-se um modelo linear geral multivariado para comparação dos grupos controlando variáveis sociodemográficas. Resultados Pacientes com PDD apresentaram déficits em todo o RAVLT, com exceção no armazenamento de curto-prazo e reconhecimento, com tamanhos de efeito moderados ou altos. Conclusão A PDD compromete a memória verbal mais intensamente na evocação livre e de forma moderada na aprendizagem. A memória de curto-prazo e de reconhecimento são úteis em contextos onde o diagnóstico diferencial é necessário. .

Factitious lesions of the hand / Lesao facticia na mao

OBJECTIVE: The presence of a lesion with atypical presentation, obscure clinical history, which does not improve with classic treatments, shall raise the red flag of the medical team. In such cases, the hypothesis of a factitious lesion shall be considered. Many times the correct diagnosis on the initial assessment may avoid high-cost diagnostic tests, unnecessary treatments, and time consumption of the medical team. We present here two classic cases of factitious lesions that, similar to those described in the literature, is difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat. .

OBJETIVO: A presença de lesão com apresentação atípica, história clínica indefinida, que não melhora com tratamentos clássicos, deve colocar a equipe médica em alerta. Nesses casos, a hipótese de lesão factícia tem de ser levada em conta. Muitas vezes o diagnóstico correto na avaliação inicial pode evitar a realização de testes diagnósticos de alto custo, tratamentos desnecessários e desgaste da equipe médica. Por meio da apresentação de dois casos clássicos de lesão factícia na mão mostramos que, assim como descrito na literatura, tal patologia é de difícil diagnóstico e tratamento. .

Encefalopatía de Wernicke y polineuropatía asociada a déficit de complejo B después de una cirugía bariátrica / Wernicke´s encephalopathy and polyneuropathy associated with vitamin B complex deficiency after a bariatric surgery

La cirugía bariátrica es un tratamiento que garantiza una pérdida de peso sustancial y duradera, y beneficios tangibles respecto a condiciones médicas asociadas a la obesidad. El aumento del número de cirugías bariátricas ha llevado también a un aumento de las complicaciones relacionadas con ella, incluyendo la encefalopatía de Wernicke y la polineuropatía por deficiencia de vitaminas del complejo B. En este artículo se reporta un caso de encefalopatía de Wernicke siete semanas después de la cirugía, enfatizando en la importancia de reconocer el espectro de la sintomatología para hacer un diagnóstico temprano, que permita intervenir en la fase reversible de esta enfermedad potencialmente letal.

Bariatric surgery is a treatment that guarantees a substantial and lasting weight loss in addition to the tangible benefits relating to obesity-associated medical conditions. The increasing number of bariatric surgeries has revealed an increasing number of complications related to this procedure, including Wernicke´s encephalopathy and vitamin B deficiency polyneuropathies. Herein, a 7-week post-surgery case of Wernicke´s encephalopathy is presented that emphasizes the importance of an early recognition of these symptoms so as to initiate intervention during the reversible phase of these potentially lethal pathologies.

Transtorno facticio en obstetricia reporte de caso / Factitious disorder in obstetrics: case report

Introducción: El síndrome de Münchausen es la condición más estudiada del trastorno facticio con síntomas físicos; sin embargo, su presentación clínica durante la gestación es poco frecuente y es escasa la literatura al respecto. Objetivo: Presentar un caso de trastorno facticio en obstetricia. Método: Revisión y análisis de caso clínico. Resultados:Se presenta el caso de una mujer de treinta años de edad con gestación de seis semanas, quien consulta en múltiples ocasiones por un cuadro de emesis y dolor abdominal. Fueron varios los diagnósticos con los que cursó la paciente y se llegaron a excluir patologías como porfiria intermitente aguda, colon narcótico, epilepsia abdominal y espasmo esofágico. La paciente expresó su deseo de interrumpir el embarazo en la semana 21 de gestación. Esta se llevó a cabo una vez su caso fue presentado a junta médica que concluyó que existen condiciones tanto orgánicas como mentales que representan un alto riesgo para la salud de la paciente. Conclusión: Por su alta complejidad, estos trastornos constituyen un reto para el clínico, particularmente en las fases iniciales de su presentación. Los trastornos facticios son rara vez sospechados y diagnosticados, incluso en el ámbito hospitalario; por ende, es de suma importancia educar a los profesionales de la salud en atención primaria y en el medio hospitalario para identificarlos y poder orientar un adecuado manejo y tratamiento…

Introduction: Munchhausen’s syndrome is the best-studied type of factitious disorder with predominantly physical signs and symptoms. However, its clinical presentation during pregnancy is rare and literature on the subject is scarce. Objective: To present a case of factitious disorder during pregnancy. Method: Review and analysis of a clinical case. Results: The case of a 30-year-old woman six weeks pregnant who consults on multiple occasions with emesis and abdominal pain is discussed. Various different diagnoses were considered and pathologiessuch as acute intermittent porphyria, narcotic bowel syndrome, abdominal epilepsy, and esophageal spasm were discarded. The patient expressed her desire to terminate the pregnancy at week 21. The pregnancy was terminated after a medical panel concluded that there were both organic and mental conditions that placed the patient’s health at risk. Conclusions: Factitious disorders are very complex and extremely challenging to the clinician especially during the initial phases. They are seldom suspected and rarely diagnosed even in hospital settings. Therefore it is of utmost importance to educate healthcare professionals in the detection of this disorder to ensure proper management and treatment…

Facticia en niños y adolescentes manifestaciones bucales: revisión de la literatura / In children and adolescents factitious oral manifestations: a review of the literature

Las lesiones facticias constituyen un gran número de traumas físicos, que pueden presentarse en niños y adolescentes, bien sea sanos o con padecimientos psiquiátricos de diversos órdenes. El común denominador en todas estas afecciones, es la originada por autoagresión del paciente, dando como resultado lesiones ulcerativas, tumorales y otras formas de agresiones inducidas de manera traumática. Esta revisión pretende analizar las características clínicas más frecuentes de dichas lesiones, con la finalidad de realizar correctos diagnósticos y descubrir su posible etiología para establecer correctos tratamientos de los mismos, a la vez de orientar a los pacientes de posibles autoagresiones

Facticial lesions are the most common physical trauma that we can found in children and adolescents, healthy or suffering from various psychiatric orders. The most common lesions can be originated by auto aggression, resulting ulcerative, tumoral, and other forms of aggressions of traumatically induced.This investigation want to analyze the most frecuense characteristic of this lesions, to have more correct diagnoses, found the etiology, and do right treatments, at a time to guide pacients of possible self- aggression

Frecuencia de las enfermedades de la mucosa bucal en el Uruguay en niños de 0 a 14 años / Frecuency of buccal mucosa diseases in Uruguay in children aged 0-14

Se realizó un estudio clínico-epidemiológico, analítico y transversal en 401 individuos de 0 a 14 años, distribuidos en dos muestras aleatorias, provenientes del Instituto Nacional del Niño y Adolescente del Uruguay (INAU) y el Centro de Asistencia del Sindicato Médico del Uruguay (CASMU). El objetivo fue establecer la prevalencia de las enfermedades de la mucosa bucal en 401 pacientes y en cada una de las muestras; determinar la influencia del género, la edad, la localización en la mucosa, la situación socio-económica-cultural, establecer la frecuencia relativa por categorías de enfermedades y comparar los resultados obtenidos con estudios similares de otros medios. La prevalencia total fue de 32,9% en CASMU 36,8% y en INAU 29%. Las variables edad y género no determinaron diferencias significativas. Se consideraron lesiones: traumaticas, de desarrollo, infecciosas, inmunoalérgicas, crecimientos tisulares, por acción del tabaco e idiopáticas. Las lesiones más prevalentes fueron las traumáticas y las de desarrollo.

Pseudoseizures: Any Psychosocial Determinants.

A sample of 80 subjects; 15 male and 65 female in age group of 5 to 45 years well educated; were diagnosed for pseudo-seizures in Neurology OPD and were included in the study. Subjects were excluded who were with any psychiatric or major physical illness. The patients, as the diagnosed case of pseudo seizures, were referred for psychosocial evaluation and were included in the study. Several sessions were held with such patients, their family members and friends to explore the psychosocial stressors as well as secondary gain if any. We observed no significant difference in relation to marital, socioeconomic and educational status among the males and females. But there were significant differences in the findings of the study in relation to the sociodemographic profile of the patients in relation to age, marital status, education and occupation of the patients. Other variables like gender, socio economic status, habitat, religion and family did not reveal any significant difference. These results are in conformity to other reported studies on patients with pseudoseizures, who have a number of stressors i.e. financial burden, family conflicts, marital disharmony, love affairs, disruption in career related issues and academic failure etc.

Realidade triádica e o espaço para brincar / Triadic reality and the playspace

O autor examina a importância do self com a representação da mãe e o pai juntos. Sugere que um self suficientemente bom com uma representação de mãe e o pai juntos, como um reflexo da verdadeira realidade interativa e da competência psicológica de cada um dos pais e de seu relacionamento, onde nenhum dos pais se apropria dos atributos de autoregulação da criança, porque a relação entre os dois adultos modula e contém o que de outra forma seria deletério sobre o desenvolvimento da criança. Essa representação, assim, permite o melhor desenvolvimento possível do ego para brincar e equipa a criança para melhor gerir, tanto intrapsiquicamente quanto interativamente, aquilo com que ela precisa lidar. Descreve, através de ilustrações clínicas, que uma perturbação nesta função parental com a criança pode resultar em uma síndrome de desvio desenvolvimental pseudopsicótica, conseqüência da falha na tentativa da criança de conformar uma realidade triádica, que é, na verdade, uma realidade pseudotriádica

The author examines the importance of the self with mother and father together representation. He suggests that a good enough self with mother and father together representation, one in which, as a reflection of actual interactive reality and the psychological competence of each parent and their relationship, neither parent must appropriate the child’s attributes for self regulation because the relationship between the two adults contains and titrates what otherwise might impinge deleteriously upon the child. This representation thus allows for the optimal development of the ego capacity of play and thus equips the child to better manage both intrapsychially and interactively that with which he must contend. He describes, through clinical illustrations, that a disturbance in this parental function with the child can result in a pseudo-psychotic syndrome of developmental deviation as a result of the fault in the attempt of the child to conform a triadic reality, that is, in the truth, a pseudotriadic reality

Pseudologia Fantastica.

Pseudologia Fantastica is a disorder wherein the person tells lies incessantly. It is usually encountered in forensic practice in those accused of fraud, swindling, making false accusations or false confessions. Their lies are mostly aimed at attracting notice and inflating their importance, in contrast to carefully planned typical frauds. A case presenting with features of Pseudologia Fantastica is described. Although this patient had no legal problems because of his lying habits, he had most of the features of Pseudologia Fantastica. He has shown good response with combined pharmacotherapy and behaviour therapy. As these patients are at high risk of committing various types of frauds, it is very important to diagnose such patients at an early stage so that legal implications of this disorder can be avoided.

FDG PET Imaging For Dementia / 핵의학분자영상

Dementia is a major burden for many countries including South Korea, where life expectancy is continuously growing and the proportion of aged people is rapidly growing. Neurodegenerative disorders, such as, Alzheimer disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, Huntington disease, can cause dementia, and cerebrovascular disease also can cause dementia. Depression or hypothyroidism also can cause cognitive deficits, but they are reversible by management of underlying cause unlike the forementioned dementias. Therefore these are called pseudodementia. We are entering an era of dementia care that will be based upon the identification of potentially modifiable risk factors and early disease markers, and the application of new drugs postpone progression of dementias or target specific proteins that cause dementia. Efficient pharmacologic treatment of dementia needs not only to distinguish underlying causes of dementia but also to be installed as soon as possible. Therefore, differential diagnosis and early diagnosis of dementia are utmost importance. F-18 FDG PET is useful for clarifying dementing diseases and is also useful for early detection of the diseases. Purpose of this article is to review the current value of FDG PET for dementing diseases including differential diagnosis of dementia and prediction of evolving dementia.

Depression and Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly

A number of studies have looked at depression and associated cognitive impairment. The term depressive pseudodementia has proved to be a popular clinical concept. Despite the improvement following treatment of depression, the baseline level of cognitive impairment in older depressive patients remained impaired, mostly. These patients would be likely at high risk of developing progressive dementia. Depressive symptoms and cognitive decline would be different phenotypes result from neurodegeneration of pathophysiology for dementia. Depression in elderly patients, especially late-onset appears to be a strong predictor of dementia. No more concept of pseudodementia, older patients with depressive symptoms combined cognitive impairment should probably have full dementia screenings, comprehensive cognitive testing and ongoing monitoring of their cognitive function.

Factitious disorder mimicking addiction to levodopa in a patient with advanced Parkinson's disease

Relatamos o caso de mulher de 43 anos de idade com doença de Parkinson de início precoce cujo controle neurológico foi significativamente afetado por co-morbidades psiquiátricas incluindo depressão maior e síndrome do pânico. A paciente também apresentou critérios para transtorno factício o qual mimetizava a síndrome de desregulação dopaminérgica, sendo responsável por significativa incapacidade clínica e social.

Pseudomalabsorcão de levotiroxina: relato de um caso / Pseudomalabsorption of levothyroxine: a case report

Uma mulher de 49 anos, em tratamento de hipotireoidismo com levotiroxina, após diagnóstico de tireoidite de Hashimoto e tireoidectomia total para bócio multinodular atóxico, foi avaliada devido a hipotireoidismo persistente apesar do uso de altas doses de levotiroxina (600æg/dia). Clinicamente, a paciente apresentava sinais e sintomas de hipotireoidismo, e os exames laboratoriais mostravam tiroxina livre de 0,20ng/dL; hormônio tireoestimulante de 351æUI/mL; triiodotironina total de 27ng/dL. Foi confirmada a não aderência ao tratamento e considerados os diagnósticos de sindrome de Munchausen e transtorno factício, levando ao quadro de pseudomalabsorcão de levotiroxina.