Giugno 2004 - Volume XXIII - numero 6
Focus
*Clinica Pediatrica, IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Università di Trieste
**Unità Operativa di Neuropsichiatria Infantile, IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste
Key words: Somatoform disorders, Factitious illness, Children, Adolescents
Somatoform disorders are common among children and adolescents. The authors describes the clinical history of 4 out of 8 cases with somatoform or factitious disorders referred to the Hospital during a period of one year (total number of admission: 130). Abnormal psychosocial situations were found to be associated with onset and course of the disorders in all cases. The level of school absenteism in adolescents with somatoform disorder is remarkably higher than that reported in other chronic diseases. In some cases, physicians and the health care system play a significant role in reinforcing somatisation by patients. It is recommended that paediatricians include illness falsification by the child and adolescent patients in the differential diagnosis of persistent and unexplained medical condition, along with somatisation and malingering by proxy.
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