A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity
Abstract Background Delusional parasitosis is a rare, fixed, false belief that an individual is infested with parasites or other living organisms despite no laboratory evidence to confirm this belief. It can manifest as a shared belief, folie à deux, or by proxy. Case presentation This case report d...
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BMC
2025-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07236-x |
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| author | Caroline Chivily Brianna Glover |
| author_facet | Caroline Chivily Brianna Glover |
| author_sort | Caroline Chivily |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Delusional parasitosis is a rare, fixed, false belief that an individual is infested with parasites or other living organisms despite no laboratory evidence to confirm this belief. It can manifest as a shared belief, folie à deux, or by proxy. Case presentation This case report describes an 8-year-old patient with Trisomy 21 with delusional parasitosis by proxy. The patient’s mother remained fixated on the patient having a parasitic infection despite extensive reassuring evaluations. There were multiple normal-appearing pictures and videos of the patient’s urine, stool, skin and throat shown to the medical team, consistent with the “specimen sign” described in the literature. Conclusions Delusional parasitosis is rare and can be difficult to diagnose and treat. It has even more complexity and implications in pediatric or other vulnerable populations. A multidisciplinary treatment approach is important to build trust and prevent harm. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b34b3762e66d43dfb2f2e86c30e4e542 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-244X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-b34b3762e66d43dfb2f2e86c30e4e5422025-08-20T03:42:56ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2025-08-012511310.1186/s12888-025-07236-xA case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entityCaroline Chivily0Brianna Glover1Emory University School of MedicineDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Hospital Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine Children’s Healthcare of AtlantaAbstract Background Delusional parasitosis is a rare, fixed, false belief that an individual is infested with parasites or other living organisms despite no laboratory evidence to confirm this belief. It can manifest as a shared belief, folie à deux, or by proxy. Case presentation This case report describes an 8-year-old patient with Trisomy 21 with delusional parasitosis by proxy. The patient’s mother remained fixated on the patient having a parasitic infection despite extensive reassuring evaluations. There were multiple normal-appearing pictures and videos of the patient’s urine, stool, skin and throat shown to the medical team, consistent with the “specimen sign” described in the literature. Conclusions Delusional parasitosis is rare and can be difficult to diagnose and treat. It has even more complexity and implications in pediatric or other vulnerable populations. A multidisciplinary treatment approach is important to build trust and prevent harm.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07236-xParasitosisParasiteCase report |
| spellingShingle | Caroline Chivily Brianna Glover A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity BMC Psychiatry Parasitosis Parasite Case report |
| title | A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity |
| title_full | A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity |
| title_fullStr | A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity |
| title_full_unstemmed | A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity |
| title_short | A case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy: a rare entity |
| title_sort | case report of delusional parasitosis by proxy a rare entity |
| topic | Parasitosis Parasite Case report |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07236-x |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carolinechivily acasereportofdelusionalparasitosisbyproxyarareentity AT briannaglover acasereportofdelusionalparasitosisbyproxyarareentity AT carolinechivily casereportofdelusionalparasitosisbyproxyarareentity AT briannaglover casereportofdelusionalparasitosisbyproxyarareentity |