Factitious disorder: a rare cause of haematemesis

Acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common condition in the UK with 50–70,000 admissions per year. In 20% of cases no cause can be found on endoscopy. Here, we present the case of a young female patient who was admitted on three occasions with large volume haematemesis and bleeding from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical journal of gastroenterology 2017-10, Vol.10 (5), p.447-451
Main Authors: McFarlane, Michael, Eaden, Jayne, Burch, Nicola, Disney, Ben
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdominal Surgery
Case Report
Catheterization, Peripheral
Colorectal Surgery
Factitious Disorders - complications
Factitious Disorders - diagnosis
Female
Gastroenterology
Hematemesis - etiology
Hepatology
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Surgical Oncology
Young Adult
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Summary:Acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a common condition in the UK with 50–70,000 admissions per year. In 20% of cases no cause can be found on endoscopy. Here, we present the case of a young female patient who was admitted on three occasions with large volume haematemesis and bleeding from other sites. She was extensively investigated and underwent multiple endoscopic procedures. She was eventually diagnosed with factitious disorder after concerns were raised about the inconsistent nature of her presentations. She was found to be venesecting herself from her intravenous cannula, and ingesting the blood to simulate upper GI bleeding. This is a rare cause of ‘haematemesis’ but perhaps not as rare as is thought.
ISSN:1865-7257
1865-7265
DOI:10.1007/s12328-017-0771-y