Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40407585›Full record

ArticlePediatric reports2025

When Care Becomes Abuse: A Forensic-Medical Perspective on Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

Emanuele Capasso, Carola Costanza, Michele Roccella, Beatrice Gallai, Michele Sorrentino, Marco Carotenuto

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. A fatal case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy in the father-daughter dyad.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2026
    Article
  3. 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

6 authors.

Emanuele CapassoDepartment of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Napoli, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-9907-9078
Carola CostanzaDepartment of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-9200-2772
Michele RoccellaDepartment of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-7371-0228
Beatrice GallaiDepartment of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Michele SorrentinoFaculty of Medicine and Surgery, UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, 00131 Roma, Italy.
Marco CarotenutoClinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Mental Health, Physical and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", 80131 Naples, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8136-7597

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) is recognized as a form of child abuse in which a caregiver induces or fabricates illnesses in their child to gain medical and social attention. MSBP represents one of the most complex and insidious forms of child abuse, characterized by an ambiguous clinical presentation that poses significant challenges for physicians, psychiatrists, and social workers. However, this condition raises critical questions regarding its diagnosis, management, and forensic implications. Traditionally, MSBP has been framed as an individual pathological manifestation of the mother, overlooking the role of the healthcare and legal systems in its identification and management. In this article, we propose a critical reflection on MSBP, emphasizing how the issue is not merely a "parental failure" but rather a systemic failure of healthcare, social, and judicial institutions in recognizing, preventing, and effectively managing such cases.

Indexed as

child maltreatmentdiagnosis challengesfabricated or induced illness (FII)factitious disorder imposed on anotherforensic psychiatrymedical child abuseMunchausen Syndrome by Proxy

Identifiers

PMID40407585
PMCPMC12101293

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.