Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma

Munchausen syndrome as scorpion biting:a misdiagnosis

Document Type : Case Report

Authors

Reza Bidaki 1, 2
Mehrdad Roozbeh 3
Mohamad Amin Sharifi 3
Seyed Nader Mostafavi 4
Mohammad Ali Abdolkarimi Davarani 5

1 Department of Psychiatry, Research Center of Addiction and Behavioral Sciences, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

2 Diabetes Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

3 Student Research Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

4 Department of Forensic Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

5 Department of Internal Medicine , Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.15171/jept.2016.15
Abstract
Factitious disorder as Munchausen syndrome is a time and money consuming condition that is presented with different signs and symptoms. In emergent situations, it is not a differential diagnosis with high priority, but when it becomes recurrent with atypical symptoms, factitious disorder and malingering should be considered as well. In this survey, we report an odd and interesting presentation of a factitious disease as a scorpion sting which misled some professional healthcare providers until the patient finally confessed that she used turmeric to mimic the signs of a scorpion sting. She exaggerated her symptoms when asked about the details of the mechanism of the scorpion bite. When encountering an emergent condition, after ruling out the critical conditions especially when the symptom is recurrent, factitious disorders should be considered. Consultation with a psychiatrist help the team manage the patient properly.

Keywords

Factitious disorder
Scorpion sting
Turmeric
Subjects
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Journal of Emergency Practice and Trauma
Volume 4, Issue 2
July 2018
Pages 86-88

  • Receive Date 10 July 2017
  • Accept Date 09 June 2017

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