Background: The literature regarding the management of factitious disorder (FD) is diverse and generally of case reports or case series. To date there has been no systematic review of the effectiveness of management techniques.
Methods: Systematic review of all evidence reporting the management and subsequent outcome in FD. Data were extracted and outcomes were assessed using an adaptation of the Global Improvement Scale.
Results were analysed by parametric statistical tests; a meta-analysis was not possible.
Results: Thirty-two case reports and 13 case series were eligible for inclusion. Analysis of the case reports found no significant difference in outcomes between confrontational and non-confrontational approaches [t(29) = 0.72, p = 0.48], between treatment with psychotherapy compared to no psychotherapy [t(30) = 0.69, p = 0.48], and when psychiatric medication had been prescribed compared with not [t(30) = 0.35, p = 0.73]. A trend was observed that a longer length of treatment lead to better outcomes, but this was not significant [F(5, 26) = 1.17, p = 0.35]. The consecutive case series demonstrated that many FD sufferers were not engaged in treatment and were lost to follow-up but did not provide any strong evidence regarding the effectiveness of different management approaches.
Conclusions: There is an absence of sufficient robust research to determine the effectiveness of any management technique for FD. The establishment of a central reporting register to facilitate the development of evidence-based guidelines is recommended.
Dr. Jonathan I. Bisson
Clinical Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine Monmouth House, University Hospital of Wales
Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XW (UK)
Tel. +44 29 2074 4534, Fax +44 29 2074 7839, E-Mail BissonJI@cardiff.ac.uk
Sarah Eastwood, Jonathan I. Bisson
Department of Psychological Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Psychother Psychosom 2008;77:209-218 (DOI: 10.1159/000126072)
