Delusional Parasitosis: A Clinical Profile

Abstract

Further studies are warranted to study the treatment and outcome of this important psychiatric disorder.

Delusional Parasitosis as 'Folie a Deux'

“…The mother in the present case study was 55 yr old, in agreement with the result of the previous studies reporting that DP occurs mostly after middle age (7,9,13).…”

“…Some report that there is no difference in the incidence according to gender (2, 3) while others report that the incidence is higher in women (5,7). Although some studies (5,9,13) report that the onsets are insidious followed by chronic courses, DP occurred suddenly in our patients and lasted only a short duration maybe due to the fact that psychiatric intervention was done relatively early in these patients who showed severe symptoms; thus, early detection and psychiatric intervention seems to be an important factor in the treatment of DP patients.…”

“…DP has also been described as primary (not due to any other underlying psychiatric or physical disorder) or secondary to other disorders such as dementia, psychosis (5), or medical conditions including vitamin B12 deficiency, pellagra, severe renal disease, diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis, and leprosy (9). In an analysis of 52 consecutive cases of DP, Bhatia et al (7) reported that three cases of DP were associated with diabetes mellitus, five cases with leprosy, five cases with dementia, four cases with depression, and three cases were associated with trichotillomania. Patients with DP spend much time and money trying to get rid of this 'infestation' and go from one doctor to another in the hope of finally finding a specialist who can offer the 'right' treatment.…”

Primer Psikiyatrik Hastalıklar

“…DP tek bafl›na görülebilece¤i gibi di¤er psikiyatrik bozukluklarla ya da bedensel hastal›klar-la birlikte de görülebilir. DP'un beraber görüldü¤ü psikiyatrik rahats›zl›klardan bafll›calar› demans, psikoz, ilaç kullan›m›na ikincil, flizofreni, depresyon, paranoya, baflka türlü adland›r›la-mayan psikotik bozukluk, obsesif kompulsif bozukluk, bipolar duygulan›m bozuklu¤u ve yas tepkisidir 6 . DP ile beraber görülebilen bedensel hastal›klar ve ilaç kullan›m› aras›nda: diabetes mellitus, hipertansiyon, kalp yetmezli¤i, lepra, lenfoma, hipotiroidizm, hipertiroidizm, panhipopituitarizm, ciddi anemiler, lösemi, hepatit, vitamin eksikli¤i (B12, niasin, folik asit), enfeksiyonlar (tbc, sifiliz, AIDS vb), nörolojik hastal›klar, ast›m, tüberkuloz, artrit, tümörler, kortikosteroid kullan›m› say›labilir.…”

“…Yaflla birlikte görülme s›kl›¤›n›n kad›nlarda artt›¤› bildirilmifltir. Elli yafl öncesi kad›n/erkek oran› 2/1 iken, 50 yafl üstü olgu grubunda bu oran 3/1 olarak bildirilmektedir ve hastal›¤›n prototipi de orta yafll› bir kad›n olarak tan›mlanmaktad›r 4,6,15 . Hastal›¤›n iki evrede art›fl gösterdi¤i ilk evrenin 20-30 yafllar› aras›nda, di¤er evrenin ise 50 yafl›ndan sonra oldu¤u belirtilmektedir.…”