Nipple-sparing mastectomy in normal breast: consequence of simulation and disease anxiety

Diagnosis in psychiatry is a thorough and potentially artificial process. In this letter, we discuss this diagnostic process in the context of a young patient who underwent nipple-sparing mastectomy after falsifying a breast biopsy report revealing invasive ductal carcinoma. The secondary pathology revision was also forged by the patient and confirmed the diagnosis. The patient was summoned by the Service's board and admitted the falsification of breast cancer reports. After evaluation at the Psychiatric Service, changes in vital mood, psychosis, delusional activity and obsessive-compulsive symptoms were ruled out. In view of the growing demand for prophylactic mastectomy observed worldwide, similar cases may become more frequent.

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.

A case report of type 1 diabetes mellitus and factitious hypoglycemia in a patient with Munchausen Syndrome / Hipoglucemia facticia: el caso de un paciente con diabetes mellitus tipo 1 y síndrome de Munchausen

SUMMARY Munchausen syndrome is rarely considered as a first diagnosis, especially in a type 1 diabetic patient presenting with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. The diagnosis should be considered when episodes of hypoglycemia are persistent, and tests suggest a possible exogenous source of insulin. We report a case of a 26-year-old man with multiple hypoglycemic episodes and a long known diagnosis of diabetes type 1 who was referred to our institution after multiple in and out patient consultations in other institutions. He arrived with persistent hypoglycemia, even after withdrawal of insulin therapy on medical record, but persistent self-administration and misuse, without health care professional knowledge, of insulin therapy. He was diagnosed with factitious hypoglycemia after psychiatric evaluation. The patient improved with psychotherapy and family support as well as strict vigilance of insulin administration.

RESUMEN El síndrome de Munchausen rara vez es considerado como primer diagnóstico, especialmente en pacientes diabéticos tipo 1 con cuadro de hipoglicemia hiperinsulinémica. Debe pensarse en este diagnóstico cuando los episodios de hipoglicemia sean persistentes y los exámenes paraclínicos sugieran una fuente exógena de insulina. El siguiente es un reporte de caso de un paciente masculino de 26 años con múltiples episodios de hipoglicemia y diagnóstico conocido de diabetes mellitus tipo 1, quien fue referido a nuestro hospital universitario después de haber consultado en varias ocasiones y haber sido hospitalizado y dado de alta en otras instituciones. Ingresa por múltiples episodios de hipoglicemias, y que incluso al retirar las insulinas por orden médica, persistían los síntomas. Se encontró auto-administración de uso de insulinas sin el conocimiento de los profesionales de la salud, llegando al diagnóstico de hipoglicemia facticia después de valoración por psiquiatría. El paciente presentó mejoría con psicoterapia y apoyo familiar, además de vigilancia estricta de la administración de insulinas.

Dermatosis autoinfligida: presentación de un caso y revisión / Self-inflicted dermatosis: presentation of a case and review

Las dermatosis autoinfligidas representan un motivo habitual de consulta, así como un desafío diagnóstico y terapéutico. Se caracterizan por la autoprovocación de lesiones cutáneas de manera consciente o inconsciente en el contexto de trastornos psiquiátricos complejos. Comunicamos el caso de una paciente que consultó al Servicio de Dermatología por úlceras irregulares y sobreinfectadas localizadas en rostro, de 2 meses de evolución. El caso representó una dificultad diagnóstica ya que solo a partir del interrogatorio exhaustivo y los exámenes complementarios, que descartaron otras patologías, se arribó al diagnóstico de úlceras autoprovocadas en contexto de patología psiquiátrica que requirió manejo interdisciplinario. (AU)

Self-inflicted dermatoses are a frequent cause for consultation and represent a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. They are characterized by the conscious or unconscious self-generation of cutaneous lesions in the context of complex psychiatric disorders. We report the case of a patient who consulted at the dermatology department with two months history of irregular and superinfected ulcers located on the face. This case represented a diagnostic difficulty since only from an exhaustive interrogation and complementary examinations, which ruled out other pathologies, we arrived at the diagnosis of self-inflicted ulcers in the context of psychiatric pathology that required interdisciplinary management. (AU)

Munchausen syndrome and Munchausen syndrome by proxy: a narrative review / Síndrome de Munchausen e síndrome de Munchausen por procuração: uma revisão narrativa

ABSTRACT The Munchausen syndrome and Munchausen syndrome by proxy are factitious disorders characterized by fabrication or induction of signs or symptoms of a disease, as well as alteration of laboratory tests. People with this syndrome pretend that they are sick and tend to seek treatment, without secondary gains, at different care facilities. Both syndromes are well-recognized conditions described in the literature since 1951. They are frequently observed by health teams in clinics, hospital wards and emergency rooms. We performed a narrative, nonsystematic review of the literature, including case reports, case series, and review articles indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed from 1951 to 2015. Each study was reviewed by two psychiatry specialists, who selected, by consensus, the studies to be included in the review. Although Munchausen syndrome was first described more than 60 years ago, most of studies in the literature about it are case reports and literature reviews. Literature lacks more consistent studies about this syndrome epidemiology, therapeutic management and prognosis. Undoubtedly, these conditions generate high costs and unnecessary procedures in health care facilities, and their underdiagnose might be for lack of health professional's knowledge about them, and to the high incidence of countertransference to these patients and to others, who are exposed to high morbidity and mortality, is due to symptoms imposed on self or on others.

RESUMO A síndrome de Munchausen e a síndrome de Munchausen por procuração são condições caracterizadas pela invenção ou pela produção intencional de sinais ou sintomas de doenças, bem como alterações de exames laboratoriais. Indivíduos com esta síndrome fingem que estão doentes e tendem a procurar tratamento, sem ganho secundário, em diferentes serviços de saúde. Ambas as síndromes são condições bem descritas na literatura desde 1951. Elas são frequentemente observadas pelas equipes de saúde em clínicas, enfermarias hospitalares e prontos-socorros. Conduziu-se revisão narrativa, não sistemática da literatura, incluindo relatos de caso, séries de relatos de caso, artigos de revisão indexados no MEDLINE/PubMed de 1951 a 2015. Cada estudo foi revisado por dois especialistas em psiquiatria que, por meio de consenso, escolheram quais estudos seriam incluídos nesta revisão. Apesar da síndrome de Munchausen ter sido descrita pela primeira vez há mais de 60 anos, a maioria dos estudos conduzidos sobre esta condição são relatos de caso e revisões da literatura. A literatura é carente de estudos mais consistentes sobre epidemiologia, manejo terapêutico e prognóstico da síndrome. Sem dúvida, tais condições geram altos custos e procedimentos desnecessários nos serviços de saúde. Seu subdiagnóstico pode se dar pela falta de conhecimento das síndromes por parte dos profissionais de saúde, e à alta incidência de contratransferência aos pacientes e a outros que são expostos à alta morbidade e à mortalidade é justificada pelos sintomas impostos em si mesmo ou em terceiros.

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. .

El barón enfermo: síndrome de Münchausen / The sick baron: Münchausen’s syndrome

El Síndrome de Münchausen es una entidad psiquiátrica relativamente rara en la cual el paciente se provoca a sí mismo, o a las personas, a su cargo múltiples sintomatologías de manera deliberada, pudiendo resultar incluso en amputaciones o muerte. Lo hace de una forma consciente pero sin ningún tipo de ganancia primaria presente, sólo por el “placer” de sentirse atendido por el personal asistencial. Es una patología que plantea todo un reto para el clínico, puesto que no posee un cuadro sindrómico típico.

Münchausen’s Syndrome is a psychiatric disease that’s considered as relatively rare; in which the patients causes multiple symptoms and diseases Either to themselves or the people around them, with the possibility of resulting in amputations or even death. The patient engages in this behavior being conscious of what he’s doing, butwith no secondary gain at all, just the “pleasure” of feeling taken care of by the medical personnel. It is a disease that lacks a characteristic clinical course, therefore is of great difficulty to the doctor to diagnose properly an in time.

A Case Report of Factitious Fever / 감염

Factitious fever has been a rare cause of fever of unknown origin. We herein report a case of a young soldier, who presented with persistent fever of unusual pattern and bullae on both palms. After numerous investigations had excluded organic diseases, factitious fever was diagnosed with measurement of the freshly voided urine temperatures and body temperatures while directly observed. Biopsy of skin lesions revealed friction blister. Early recognition of this cause of fever is needed to avoid the unnecessary investigation and prolonged hospitalization.