• S Taylor and S E Hyler.
• Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York.
• Int J Psychiatry Med. 1993 Jan 1; 23 (1): 81-94.

ObjectiveSince factitious disorders entered the official psychiatric nomenclature in DSM-III and DSM-III-R, there has been a proliferation of reports and commentary about this unusual disorder. We present an update of the recent literature.MethodThe psychiatric and medical literature was searched. Clinical reports and critical/theoretical papers were reviewed; eighty-five are summarized here.ResultsAvailable data is descriptive and anecdotal. Reports focus on the following four topics, which are discussed here: 1) diagnostic issues, 2) the newly proposed DSM-IV category of factitious disorder by proxy, 3) epidemiology and course, 4) new developments in treatment and management.ConclusionsFactitious disorders are uncommon but serious illnesses that present diagnostic and management dilemmas. Deriving systematic information about these illnesses is a major challenge.

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