From oliguria to urinary incontinence: a case of Munchausen’s syndrome in an adolescent boy

Pierluigi Marzuillo; Rosaria Marotta; Andrea Apicella; Stefano Guarino; Tiziana Esposito; Nicoletta Della Vecchia; Mario Diplomatico; Cesare Polito; Laura Perrone; Angela La Manna

doi:10.1515/ijamh-2016-0039

Article

From oliguria to urinary incontinence: a case of Munchausen’s syndrome in an adolescent boy

Pierluigi Marzuillo , Rosaria Marotta , Andrea Apicella , Stefano Guarino , Tiziana Esposito , Nicoletta Della Vecchia , Mario Diplomatico , Cesare Polito , Laura Perrone and Angela La Manna

Published/Copyright: August 5, 2016

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From the journal International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health Volume 30 Issue 2

Abstract

Factitious disorders are characterized by physical or psychological symptoms that are intentionally produced or feigned in order to assume the sick role. “Munchausen’s syndrome” is one of these disorders and often is under-recognized or only suspected after unnecessary investigations. We report the case of a 15-year-old boy who came to our notice because of reduced urine output and recurrent abdominal pain during the previous 3 months. The patient attended several emergency room visits and he had been hospitalized for 1 month in an adult internal medicine department because of “oliguria”. He had undergone several invasive investigations with normal results before the diagnosis of Munchausen’s syndrome was made. General pediatricians and practitioners should be aware that suspecting Munchausen’s syndrome in the first instance in the management of a patient showing discrepancies between reported urinary symptoms and the detectable clinical signs could avoid unnecessary and invasive exams.

Keywords: adolescents; children; Munchausen’s syndrome; oliguria; urinary incontinence

Corresponding author: Pierluigi Marzuillo, MD, Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Via L. De Crecchio n° 2, 80138, Napoli, Italy, Phone: +39-081-5665465, Fax: +39 081 5665427

Informed consent: Obtained from the child and his parents.
Institutional committee approval: Not applicable because this is only a case report description.

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Received: 2016-4-19

Accepted: 2016-6-29

Published Online: 2016-8-5

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2016-0039

Keywords for this article

adolescents; children; Munchausen’s syndrome; oliguria; urinary incontinence