Fabricating illness

Question 1

What is meant by the term fabricated or induced illness?

Answer 1

erm to describe a group of behaviours by parents (or carers), but usually the mother (>80%), which cause harm to children. It fulfils the parents (or carers) own needs

may consist of verbal fabrication or induction of illness

Question 2

What is meant by verbal fabrication?

Answer 2

parents fabricate (i.e. invent) symptoms and signs in the child, telling a false story to healthcare professionals, leading them to believe the child is ill and requires investigation and treatment

Question 3

What can verbal fabrication of illness lead to in the hospital setting?

Answer 3

Medical and nursing staff are used as the instrument to harm the child through unnecessary interventions, including medication, hospital stays, intrusive tests, and surgery

Question 4

What can verbal fabrication of illness lead to in the community setting?

Answer 4

In community settings, the false stories may lead to medication, special diets, and a restricted lifestyle or special schools

Question 5

What are 4 things that induction of illness may involve?

Answer 5

1. suffocation of the child, which may present as an acute life-threatening event
2. administration of noxious substances or poisons
3. excessive or unnecessary administration of ordinary substances (e.g. excess salt)
4. excess or unnecessary use of medication (prescribed for the child or others)
5. the use of medically provided portals of entry (such as gastrostomy buttons, central lines).

Question 6

What can make a fabricated illness more difficult to identify?

Answer 6

can coexist with organic illness

Question 7

What are 3 ways that fabricated illness can manifest that you should pick up on?

Answer 7

1. overprotection
2. imposing unwarranted restrictions
3. giving treatment that is inappropriate or excessive.

Question 8

When should you suspected fabricated illness?

Answer 8

requent unexplained illnesses and multiple hospital admissions with symptoms that only occur in the carer’s presence and are not substantiated by clinical findings

Question 9

Why can fabricating illness be a very harmful disorder to the child?

Answer 9

unnecessary investigations and potentially harmful treatment are likely to be given. The child also learns to live with a pattern of illness rather than health.

Question 10

How can induced poisoning be detected?

Answer 10

identifying the drug in the blood or urine