Munchausen Syndrome in Emergency Medicine Medication

  • Author: William Ernoehazy Jr, MD, FACEP; Chief Editor: Barry E Brenner, MD, PhD, FACEP   more...
 
Updated: Feb 10, 2011
 
 

Medication Summary

Drugs that may be proposed for a patient with Munchausen syndrome fall into 2 categories, (1) drugs used to treat the presenting symptoms, and (2) antipsychotic medications, which are used to treat the underlying condition.

The first category is necessarily broad because patients with Munchausen syndrome have portrayed nearly every disease known to medicine.

No good evidence exists that antipsychotic drugs have any effect on the course or prognosis of Munchausen syndrome.

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

William Ernoehazy Jr, MD, FACEP  Medical Director, Emergency Department, Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital, Florida

William Ernoehazy Jr, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Eric M Kardon, MD, FACEP  Attending Emergency Physician, Georgia Emergency Medicine Specialists; Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Athens Regional Medical Center

Eric M Kardon, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine

Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Robert Harwood, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM  Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Advocate Christ Medical Center; Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine

Robert Harwood, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

John D Halamka, MD, MS  Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Barry E Brenner, MD, PhD, FACEP  Professor of Emergency Medicine, Professor of Internal Medicine, Program Director, Emergency Medicine, University Hospitals, Case Medical Center

Barry E Brenner, MD, PhD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Heart Association, American Thoracic Society, Arkansas Medical Society, New York Academy of Medicine, New York Academy of Sciences, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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