title: Obsessive-compulsive disorder and rectal prolapse.
abstract: A 47-year-old woman with a long-standing history of obsessive-compulsive disorder relating to dirt and germs is presented. Her fear of developing bowel cancer led her to manually evacuate faeces from her rectum five times a day and to a resultant rectal prolapse. Treatment involved prolonged graduated exposure to the patient's feared contaminants and ritual avoidance. After 5 months of inpatient therapy, the patient reported a subjective 70% improvement in her symptoms. As her obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms improved, the patient's rectal prolapse disappeared.
authors.affiliation: Springfield University Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Julian B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: Lynne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kolb
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003672:Defecation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D012005:Rectal Prolapse / Q000209:etiology*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology