Munchausen syndrome by proxy simulating cystic fibrosis

The case of a child with apparent cystic fibrosis whose many signs, symptoms, and laboratory results were convincingly portrayed by his mother is presented. The mother falsified the history, and cunningly altered sweat tests and stool fat analyses, and stole sputum from patients with cystic fibrosis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 1986-10, Vol.78 (4), p.621-624
Main Authors: ORENSTEIN, D. M, WASSERMAN, A. L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Body Weight
Child Abuse
Child, Preschool
Chlorides - analysis
Cystic Fibrosis - diagnosis
Diagnosis, Differential
Fats - analysis
Feces - analysis
Female
Humans
Male
Medical History Taking
Medical sciences
Mothers
Munchausen Syndrome - diagnosis
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Sociocultural environment
Sweat - analysis
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Description
Summary:The case of a child with apparent cystic fibrosis whose many signs, symptoms, and laboratory results were convincingly portrayed by his mother is presented. The mother falsified the history, and cunningly altered sweat tests and stool fat analyses, and stole sputum from patients with cystic fibrosis to make her child appear to have cystic fibrosis. This case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy highlights the extent to which the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis rests on reliable history and laboratory data and emphasizes the extremes to which perpetrators of this form of child abuse may go to make their case. Medical personnel must educate civil authorities about this syndrome and the dangers it represents to the child.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.78.4.621