CASE REPORTS   

Esperienze Dermatologiche 2008 September;10(3):115-20

Copyright © 2008 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Factitious syndromes: a possible classification

Passarini B., Ismaili A., Passaretti G., Balestri R.

Clinica Dermatologica, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna

Factitious syndromes comprise a group of self-induced skin lesions. Numerous attempts have been made to classify them, not all of which have been convincing because of the extreme individual variability of the clinical picture. With a view to simplifying their definition, we suggest classifying factitious syndromes into consciously induced skin lesions due to an underlying psychiatric or psychological disorder (true factitious syndromes) and skin lesions created in a dissociative state (dermatitis artefacta). This article describes two cases, each illustrating an example of the two groups.