NCJ Number
194960
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 132-137
Date Published
May 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study attempted to identify differences in histories and clinical features between chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIP) and pediatric condition falsification (PCF) masquerading as CIP.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to define clinical criteria to discriminate between pediatric condition falsification (PCF) and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIP) in toddlers through an evaluation of 39 toddlers between the years of 1990 and 1994 who were experiencing severe and unexplained gastrointestinal signs and symptoms requiring parenteral nutrition or tube feeding. Seven features from the clinical presentation that helped to differentiate CIP from PCF were identified and included: (1) daily abdominal pain; (2) multisystem disease; (3) accelerating trajectory; (4) reported preterm birth; (5) dilated bowel; (6) abnormal manometry; and (7) genitourinary neuromuscular disease. However, the medical diagnosis of PCF is not based on these features, but by satisfying three criteria: (1) a medical history that does not make sense; (2) lies and exaggerations from the caretaker documented repeatedly and by multiple observers; and (3) the child’s symptoms improve without medical interventions by removing the child from the primary caretaker. For clinicians who are evaluating children for CIP, the seven features provoke an awareness of the possibility of PCF. References