Eighteen needles to forget...an unnamed past.
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.
Piccillo
Giovita A
GA
Division of Emergency Medicine, Cannizzaro Hospital, Catania, Italy.
Miele
Luca
L
Mondati
Enrico G M
EG
Scuderi
Rosario
R
Nicolosi
Maurizio
M
Forgione
Alessandra
A
Gabrieli
Maria L
ML
Cefalo
Consuelo
C
Gasbarrini
Giovanni
G
Grieco
Antonio
A
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*