When COVID-19 Is Not All: Femicide Conducted by a Murderer with a Narcissistic Personality "Masked" by a Brief Psychotic Disorder, with a Mini-Review.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
; 19(22)2022 Nov 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2110089
ABSTRACT
Several cases of COVID-19-related mental disorders have emerged during the pandemic. In a case of femicide that occurred in Italy during the first phase of the pandemic, coinciding with a national lockdown, a discrepancy arose among forensic psychiatry experts, particularly toward the diagnosis of Brief Psychotic Disorder (BPD) related to COVID-19. We aimed to discuss the evaluation of the case through an integration of information and a literature review on comparable reported cases. An analysis of the diagnosis of brief acute psychosis was then performed, as well as a mini-review on cases of COVID-19-related psychosis. Results showed that psychotic symptomatology was characterized by polythematic delusions that always involved a SARS-CoV-2 infection. To a lesser extent, the delusions were accompanied by hallucinations, bizarre cognitive and associative alterations, insomnia, hyporexia, dysphoria, and suicidal behavior. No particularly violent acts with related injury or death of the victim were described. Finally, we could hypothesize that our case was better represented by a diagnosis of personality with predominantly narcissistic and partly psychopathic traits. The present case highlighted the importance, in the context of forensic psychiatry, of integrating assessments with the crime perpetrators, namely through accurate clinical interviews, neuropsychological tests, diachronic observations, and comparison with similar cases present in the literature. Such an integrated approach allows precise evaluation and reduces the odds of errors in a field, such as forensic psychiatry, where a diagnostic decision can be decisive in the judgment of criminal responsibility. Moreover, discerning forensics from health cases represents an important issue in risk management.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Psychotic Disorders
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Case report
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Reviews
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ijerph192214826
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