Industrial Psychiatry Journal (Jan 2023)

Delusional parasitosis: A case series

  • Akanksha Gajbhiye,
  • Tahoora Ali,
  • Sadaf Aziz,
  • Pratishtha Singh,
  • Shivang Gandhi,
  • Suprakash Chaudhury,
  • Jaideep Patil

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_240_23
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 32, no. 3
pp. 258 – 261

Abstract

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Delusional parasitosis (DP) is an infrequent psychotic illness, where the patient has a false but firm belief that his body is infested with parasites. It can be primary or secondary. Usually, these patients consult nonpsychiatric specialties from where they are referred to psychiatry. The presentation of DP varies among patients, although it typically manifests as a crawling and pinpricking sensation. Hallucinations are commonly seen. Antipsychotics show good remission of symptoms. A series of seven cases of DP have been described, and the condition is briefly discussed.

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