Munchausen by proxy: Experience of a pediatric tertiary care hospital in Mexico

INTRODUCTION: Munchausen by proxy constitutes a form of child abuse in which the people in charge of caring for a child or adolescent (Children or Adolescents), usually the mother, exaggerate the symptoms of an existing illness, invent stories, falsify symptoms or alter studies. It is usually difficult to detect, patients are subjected to a series of unnecessary and potentially harmful studies, procedures and treatments. OBJECTIVE: Identify the characteristics of patients with Munchausen by proxy, the most frequent symptoms and pathologies and the characteristics of the main caregiver. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out on the cases treated over a period of 6 years at the Clinic for Comprehensive Care of Abused Children (CAINM) of the National Institute of Pediatrics.RESULTS: Of the cases studied, there were no differences in terms of gender, the usual presentation was with an average of 5 years, in relation to the clinical characteristics, mixed symptoms predominated, characterized by respiratory, gastrointestinal and hematological conditions. In relation to family characteristics, the mother was the main caregiver.CONCLUSION: This is an entity that is difficult to detect, due to the variability of the clinical picture, it occurs in the medical field, which leads the doctor to perpetuate the cycle and possible damage. Being familiar with this condition helps to suspect and channel cases in a timely manner.