Fabricated or induced illness

Alerting features that should prompt you to CONSIDER fabricated or induced illness:

• Child’s history, physical or psychological presentation, or findings of assessments, examinations or investigations, leads to a discrepancy with a recognised clinical picture, even if the child has a past or concurrent physical or psychological condition.

Alerting features that should prompt you to SUSPECT fabricated or induced illness:

• Child’s history, physical or psychological presentation, or findings of assessments, examinations or investigations leads to a discrepancy with a recognised clinical picture plus one or more of the following, even if the child has a past or concurrent physical or psychological condition:

  • reported symptoms and signs are only observed by, or appear in the presence of, the parent or carer

  • an inexplicably poor response to prescribed medication or other treatment

  • new symptoms are reported as soon as previous symptoms stop

  • biologically unlikely history of events

  • despite a definitive clinical opinion being reached, multiple opinions from both primary and secondary care are sought and disputed by the parent or carer and the child continues to be presented for investigation and treatment with a range of signs and symptoms

  • child’s normal daily activities (for example, school attendance) are limited, or they are using aids to daily living (for example, wheelchairs) more than expected from any medical condition that the child has