Factitious illness in gynecology.
Factitious or self-induced illness has rarely been mentioned in gynecologic literature. Described herein are 4 nonpregnant women, 3 of whom had vaginal bleeding of unknown origin and 1 who had recurrent fevers and an acute abdomen. In gynecologic practice, factitious illness should be suspected whenever a patient presents with a protracted illness that has eluded diagnosis. Furthermore, the index of suspicion for factitious illness should be high whenever a patient has an abnormal psychiatric history or has worked in a paramedical field.
D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005162:Factitious Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D009110:Munchausen Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000175:diagnosis; D014623:Vaginal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*