Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde, Volume 156, Issue 5, 1 1 2012, Pages A3952 [Simulation in the general hospital: differential diagnosis and policy]. van Schaik AM, van Mill JG, Appels BA, van Tilburg W
Doctors meet patients who present with non-genuine diseases. We present three patients who present with an illness with no organic cause: conversion syndrome, factitious disorder and simulation. We discuss the differential diagnosis, prevalence and diagnostics in the event of simulation. A proposal is made about how to respond in the event of simulation. The method is similar to the treatment of a factitious disorder: limitation of the potential benefits attached to the sick role; confrontation with medical facts; maintaining the doctor-patient relationship.
