title: Eighteen needles to forget...an unnamed past.
abstract: Lasthénie de Ferjol syndrome is a very rare psychiatric illness that occurs mainly in women. It is characterized by severe recurrent iron-deficiency anemia caused be repeated episodes self-induced blood-letting. We report the case of a young homosexual male repeatedly admitted to various hospitals for severe hypochromic anemia. We discovered that the anemia was indeed due to psychotic self-provoked hemorrhages. Based on this experience and a review of the few cases reported in the literature, we discuss issues of early diagnosis, management and treatment of Lasthénie de Ferjol patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, Cannizzaro Hospital, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovita A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Piccillo
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miele
authors.forename: Enrico G M
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Mondati
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scuderi
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicolosi
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forgione
authors.forename: Maria L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gabrieli
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cefalo
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gasbarrini
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grieco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000209:etiology*; D005162:Factitious Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011613:Psychotherapy; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*