Dermatitis artefacta in children from a forensic perspective: A case report

Abstract

Summary This paper focuses on the case of a child consulted in forensic medicine consecutive to a judicial alert indicating repeated atypical skin lesions. All medical examinations contribute to dismissing the hypothesis of an organic pathology. They introduce, however, the suspicion of a traumatic origin, and in particular, of a case of pathomimia. This form of factitious disorder is characterized by the conscious production of lesions aiming to imitate a skin condition, without the author of the lesions looking for a side-benefit. In the context of factitious disorders in children, the main challenge is to detect whether the damage is caused by a third party, a disorder known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy, or if the damage is self-inflicted. It is in this sense that we have been asked by the courts to determine if, in this particular case, it was a matter of a natural illness, of self-inflicted damage, or damage provoked by a third party.