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Psychogenic Skin Disease: A Review of 35 Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

N. P. Sheppard ,
S. O'Loughlin  and
J. P. Malone
N. P. Sheppard*
Affiliation:
St Finan's Hospital, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Eire Dept. of Adult Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Eccles Street, Dublin 7, Eire
S. O'Loughlin
Affiliation:
Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Eccles Street, Dublin 7
J. P. Malone
Affiliation:
Dept. of Adult Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Eccles Street, Dublin 7
*
∗ Correspondence
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Extract

In three years of clinical practice, the authors saw 35 cases of dermatological disorders of strictly psychological origin-8 patients with dermatitis artefacta, 8 with delusional parasitosis, and 19 who presented with skin complaints but showed no dermatological pathology (‘dermatological non-disease’). All but two initially presented for dermatological opinion rather than psychiatric assessment, and 12 refused psychiatric referral. Demographic and clinical details of all 35 cases are given, including possible related factors, course, treatment, and outcome, and the cases are discussed in the context of the existing literature. Liaison between dermatologists and psychiatrists is strongly advocated.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 149 , Issue 5 , November 1986 , pp. 636 - 643
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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