AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPERIENCE WITH PEDIATRIC MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME

F. Rad, L. E. Andrei, R. I. Spătaru, D. A. Iozsa, M. Stancu, M. Ivanov, D. Șerban,

Abstract: Munchausen syndrome is a psychiatric condition likely encountered by all kinds of health professionals. In Munchausen syndrome patients injure themselves or fake their medical presentation features in order to assume the patient’s role driven by the need for attention. Munchausen syndrome by proxy occurs when a child’s caregiver injures or invents symptoms or signs of the child for the same reason. We identified 4 cases of Munchausen syndrome assessed in two pediatric clinics in Bucharest. We bring them forward willing to draw attention over the assessment, diagnosis and their management and to emphasize the potential traps and subsequent treatment errors which may be easily made by the non-psychiatric clinicians. Munchausen syndrome can be a challenging situation for clinicians since their mis-recognition may lead to pointless medical treatment, surgical procedures or dreadful complications.
Keywords: Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, factitious disorder, pediatric.