Marc D Feldman

OBJECTIVE: Patients with factitious disorder (FD) fabricate illness, injury or impairment for psychological reasons and, as a result, misapply medical resources. The demographic and clinical profile of these patients has yet to be described in a sufficiently large sample, which has prevented clinicians from adopting an evidence-based approach to FD. The present study aimed to address this issue through a systematic review of cases reported in the professional literature.

METHOD: A ...

OBJECTIVE: The professional literature on Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) abuse consists of more than 400 articles, chapters, and books. Most have come from a handful of English-speaking industrialized countries. Our aims were to establish the extent to which published work about MBP has emerged from outside these countries, and to determine the characteristics of any reported cases.

METHOD: Numerous health care computer databases were queried, and the results supplemented by materials ...

BACKGROUND: Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are considered a common occurrence in medical settings, although definitions, methodologies and resulting prevalence rates for MUS vary widely between studies.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the present study was to characterize physicians' estimates of MUS, including clinically significant MUS, and to demonstrate in a single study how estimates vary based on the definition used.

METHODS: Two hundred and thirteen physicians completed an ...

The term "Munchausen's syndrome by proxy" (MSBP) was first used in the 1970s to describe a potentially lethal variant of abuse. In representative cases a mother deceives physicians into treating her child for illness that she has fabricated or induced, her motivation being to accrue the intangible benefits of the "sick role." Increased efforts to identify and protect victims have sometimes resulted in misdiagnosis of MSBP, leading authorities to remove children from the home and/or bring ...

BACKGROUND: The DSM-5 working group on the somatoform (SFD) and factitious (FD) disorders has recommended substantial revisions of these categories. The recommendations are based, in part, on anecdotal evidence that the diagnoses are infrequently used.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the assignment rates for SFD, FD, and related diagnoses among general medical inpatients.

METHOD: The National Hospital Discharge Survey was queried for instances of SFD and FD, along with related diagnoses identifying ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this review, which also includes the report of a new case, is to discuss the pervasive denial of responsibility among individuals who have engaged in Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) behavior. In MSBP, a caretaker (almost always the mother) fabricates or induces illness in her child; she then presents the child for medical treatment, disclaiming knowledge of the etiology of the illness.

METHOD: Literature searches of several computer databases were performed, ...

Within the past few years, the Internet has exploded into a medium of choice for those interested in health and medicine. Along with the promise of immediate access to authoritative resources via websites, the Internet offers "virtual support groups" through formats such as chat rooms and newsgroups. These person-to-person exchanges, typically focusing on a specific topic, can be invaluable sources of information and compassion for patients and their families. However, individuals may ...

OBJECTIVE: In Munchausen by proxy (MBP) abuse, a caretaker fabricates or induces illness in another person to obtain emotional gratification. In representative cases, a mother is the perpetrator and her child is the victim. In view of the limits of current explanatory models, we use personal accounts of MBP perpetrators, physicians, and family members as a window into understanding this counterintuitive behavior.

METHOD: As subspecialty clinicians and consultants, we supplemented our ...

Factitious disorder, including Munchausen syndrome, is seldom documented among pregnant patients but can have powerful consequences. We report on a 44-year-old woman who, over a period of two decades, self-induced labour and delivery in five consecutive pregnancies. She precipitated labour by rupturing her own amniotic sac with a fingernail or cervical manipulation, or misappropriating and self-administering prostaglandin suppositories from the hospital unit on which she worked as a ...

In typical cases of Munchausen by proxy maltreatment, a mother feigns or produces illness in her child. Her primary goal is to accrue emotional gratification, and no mental disorder better accounts for the behavior. We present the first published case in which the principal manufactured ailment was celiac sprue. In addition, a panoply of other ailments ranging from seizures to behavioral abnormalities was reported. The case is also very unusual in the involvement of the paternal ...

Two forms of medical dissimulation-factitious disorder and factitious disorder by proxy-present enormous challenges to clinicians accustomed to receiving valid symptom reports from their patients. The consequences of such "disease forgery" are heightened when a patient simultaneously engages in both forms of deception. We discuss a 34-year-old nurse who simulated or induced a panoply of physical and psychological ailments in both herself and her daughter. The staff's insistence on access ...

Factitious disorder by proxy (FDP) is a form of abuse in which a caregiver surreptitiously simulates or induces illnesses in a person for whom he or she cares. Typically, a mother is the perpetrator and at least one of her children is victimized. FDP has a high morbidity and mortality rate, and a knowledgeable health team increases the primary physician's confidence in making this difficult diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of awareness of FDP among mental ...

Renal and urologic problems in pediatric condition falsification (PCF)/Munchausen by proxy (MBP) can pose frustrating diagnostic and management problems. Five previously unreported victims of PCF/MBP are described. Symptoms included artifactual hematuria, recalcitrant urinary infections, dysfunctional voiding, perineal irritation, glucosuria, and “nutcracker syndrome”, in addition to alleged sexual abuse. Falsifications included false or exaggerated history, specimen contamination, and ...

Factitious disorder by proxy (FDP), historically known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, is a diagnosis applied to parents and other caregivers who intentionally feign, exaggerate, and/or induce illness or injury in a child to get attention from health professionals and others. A review of the recent literature and our experience as consultants indicate clearly that FDP has emerged in educational settings as well. Variants of educational FDP include parents of children with real or ...

A mathematical model using simple concepts of repeated games is proposed to model the course and prognosis of factitious disorders. Although simple, the model seems capable of explaining the yet unknown mechanisms underlying the variable course of factitious disorders. One of the notable results of this study is the significant effect of involved physicians in the treatment process on the course of the disease. Particularly, the doctor's error rate in realizing whether the symptoms are ...