Munchausen Syndrome: secondary gain of illness

Abstract

Secondary gain occurs when a patient consciously simulates symptoms or unconsciously acts to obtain benefits. Munchausen Syndrome is a factitious disorder where individuals fake or cause illnesses or psychological traumas to gain attention or sympathy. These patients often seek emergency care and may have undergone unnecessary surgeries on multiple occasions. OBJECTIVE: To describe important characteristics contributing to the development of Munchausen Syndrome and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. METHODOLOGY: The methodology involved a literature review conducted in 2020 using the databases SCIELO and LILACS. DISCUSSION AND RESULTS: The disease has complex diagnosis and treatment processes, as most patients simulate illness to gain secondary benefits, which are lost if discovered. CONCLUSIONS: This syndrome poses a challenge for medical teams due to the difficulty in treatment and unnecessary expenses on medications and hospitalizations of pseudo-patients seeking secondary gains.