Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34346017›Full record

ReviewNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2021

The factitious/malingering continuum and its burden on public health costs: a review and experience in an Italian neurology setting.

Marco Onofrj, Anna Digiovanni, Paola Ajdinaj, Mirella Russo, Claudia Carrarini, Massimo Di Giannantonio, Giovanni Martinotti, Stefano L Sensi

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Marco OnofrjDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy. onofrj@unich.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0480-2495
Anna DigiovanniDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.
Paola AjdinajDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.
Mirella RussoDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.
Claudia CarrariniDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.
Massimo Di GiannantonioDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.
Giovanni MartinottiDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.
Stefano L SensiDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti-Pescara 66100, Chieti, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Factitious disorder is classified as one of the five aspects of somatic symptom disorders. The fundamental element of factitious disorder is deception, i.e., pretending to have a medical or psychiatric disorder, but the enactment of deception is considered unconscious. Indeed, volition, i.e., the perception of deliberate deception, is blurred in patients presenting with factitious disorder. In the USA and the UK, factitious disorder has received constant media attention because of its forensic implications and outrageous costs for the National Health Systems. Unfortunately, a comparable level of attention is not present in Italian National Health System or the Italian mass media. The review analyzes the classifications, disorder mechanisms, costs, and medico-legal implications in the hope of raising awareness on this disturbing issue. Moreover, the review depicts 13 exemplification cases, anonymized and fictionalized by expert writers. Finally, our paper also evaluates the National Health System's expenditures for each patient, outlandish costs in the range between 50,000 and 1 million euros.

Indexed as

Factitious DisordersNeurologyHumansItalyMalingeringPublic HealthFactitious disordersFunctional neurological symptoms disorderHysteriaMalingeringMunchausen’s syndrome

Identifiers

PMID34346017
PMCPMC8443469

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.