The Charles Bonnet syndrome: a brief review and case report

Abstract

A case of a woman with visual hallucinations in the absence of other organic or psychiatric findings--symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of Charles Bonnet syndrome--is reported. The women was HIV positive, although asymptomatic for conventional complications of HIV infection. After considering possible causes of the hallucinations, including prescription drug effects and conversion or factitious disorder, the authors suggest that the woman's symptoms may have been associated with undetectable effects of HIV on the brain.