Revista Cubana de Medicina (Dec 2000)
Síndrome de munchausen: Un reto para el clínico
Abstract
Se afirmó que en las últimas décadas, y por la creciente medicalización de la sociedad, se ha descrito la aparición de pacientes con enfermedades ficticias «complejas», que durante años son atendidos en diversas instituciones, demandan gran cantidad de recursos e increpan a los profesionales de la salud por no resolver sus quejas y enfermedades. No es posible demostrar las abigarradas entidades que se buscan afanosamente y que la mayoría de los médicos no se atreven a descartar totalmente por diversos motivos. No son histéricos ni simuladores en el sentido clásico, aunque conscientes de sus actos, tal parece como si los realizaran impelidos por razones que ni ellos mismos comprenden. Para ellos se ha introducido la denominación de síndrome de Munchausen. Se hizo un breve recuento sobre los criterios diagnósticos, grupos de riesgo, cuadro clínico, modus operandi, consecuencias adversas, tratamiento y pronóstico de este moderno desafío que pone a prueba la sagacidad clínica del médico contemporáneoIt was affirmed that, in the last few decades, the occurrence of patients with fictitious "complex" diseases that have been seen in a various medical institutions for years , demand a great deal of resources and even insult health professionals for not being able to solve their complaints and diseases has been described in literature. It is not possible to prove in such patients the presence of many entities that are eagerly searched for by most physicians who do not dear to completely ignore them for a number of reasons. These patients are not hysterical persons or pretenders as it is commonly understood, they are aware of their deeds, but it seems that they do it as if they were forced by a number of reasons that they do not understand quite well. The term Munchansen syndrome has been introduced for such patients. A brief review of the diagnosis criteria, risk groups, clinical picture,modus operandi, adverse effects, treatment and prognosis of this modern challenge that test the clinical knowledge of the contemporary physician is presented
