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Perplexing Presentations​ Fabricated Illness​ Induced Illness

Learning Lunch

With Dr Imelda Bennett

Tuesday  7th February  2023

Click Here for the recording 

Click Here for the PowerPoint Presentation 

 

Dr Imelda Bennett (Consultant Paediatrician) has worked closely with Children’s Services and the GSCP for several years and will be sharing information about the new Joint Gloucestershire Protocol and leading discussions to inform our practice.

  • Fabricated or Induced Illness by carers (FII) can cause significant harm to children.  FII can involve a well child being presented by a carer as ill or disabled, or an ill or disabled child being presented with a more significant problem than he or she has in reality, and suffering harm as a consequence.

  • Recent research suggests  that the majority of suspected FII cases encountered by paediatricians can be more accurately described as ‘perplexing presentations’.  Perplexing (medical) Presentations (PP) involve a child reported to have symptoms that impact significantly on their everyday functioning, and yet thorough medical evaluation has not revealed an adequate and realistic medical explanation.  PP is distinguished from other medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) by the parents/carer being reluctant to support a rehabilitative approach and insisting instead upon continued investigations or medical intervention.

  • A Perplexing Presentation (PP) is when a child or young person is presented by their parents/care givers with a condition which cannot be medically explained and an alerting sign to possible Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII)