Abstract
Dermatitis artefacta (DA) is an intentional self-inflicted dermatitis produced by patients for unconscious psychological gain. Characteristically, patients deny the responsibility for their creation. It is a poorly understood condition and, in most cases, goes on for a long period of time before a diagnosis is made. This condition creates a lot of anxiety for physicians due to a lack of awareness of the disorder and involves a considerable amount of time and resources to deal with. Suspicion usually arises when there is an unconvincing history of the evolution and recurrence of these lesions, their locations on the body, and their bizarre shapes. Here we report a typical case of DA in a 33-year-old male who repeatedly presented with oddly shaped recurrent skin lesions in the left lower leg for nine years. He had numerous doctors’ visits and tests, and was admitted to a number of different hospitals without reaching a diagnosis or a cure.
Keywords
Publication details
- DOI
- 10.5001/omj.2015.46
- Journal
- Oman Medical Journal
- Publisher
- Oman Medical Specialty Board
- Open access
- Gold open access
Cite this article
APA 7
Al-Habsi, H., Al-Waily, A., Balkhair, A., Saparamadu, A., & Al-Hinai, M. (2015). Dermatitis Artefacta. Oman Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2015.46
MLA 9
Al-Habsi, Hamdan, et al. "Dermatitis Artefacta." Oman Medical Journal, 2015. https://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2015.46.
Chicago (author–date)
Al-Habsi, Hamdan, Ahmed Al-Waily, Abdullah Balkhair, Anna Saparamadu, and Mustafa Al-Hinai. 2015. "Dermatitis Artefacta." Oman Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2015.46.
Harvard
Al-Habsi, H., Al-Waily, A., Balkhair, A., Saparamadu, A. and Al-Hinai, M. (2015) 'Dermatitis Artefacta', Oman Medical Journal. doi:10.5001/omj.2015.46.
Vancouver
Al-Habsi H, Al-Waily A, Balkhair A, Saparamadu A, Al-Hinai M. Dermatitis Artefacta. Oman Medical Journal. 2015. doi:10.5001/omj.2015.46
IEEE
H. Al-Habsi, A. Al-Waily, A. Balkhair, A. Saparamadu, and M. Al-Hinai, "Dermatitis Artefacta," Oman Medical Journal, 2015, doi: 10.5001/omj.2015.46.