Munchausen's Syndrome and Other Factitious Disorders in Children: Case Series and Literature Review

There has been increasing recognition in the pediatric literature for the past 20 years that illness falsification by caregivers must be included in the differential diagnosis of children presenting with persistent, unexplained symptoms or laboratory findings. However, there is considerably less awareness that pediatric symptoms can also be intentionally falsified by child and adolescent patients, and this unique group has remained virtually invisible. There have been reports that many children with factitious disorders also suffer from other mental disorders, particularly personality disorders. We report an unusual case of Munchausen's syndrome in a 15-year-old patient with sickle cell disease. We also review other reported pediatric factitious disorders in literature. Our purpose is to make clinicians aware of this less known disorder in children and to discuss the similarities and differences these disorders have in children compared to adults with the same disorders.