Paediatric Conversion Disorder: State of the Art
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Abstract
DOI: 10.1016/j.rcpe.2016.09.003
Background
Conversion disorder is a highly disabling condition in the paediatric population. This review article presents the state of the art in relation to how these patients might present and how paediatricians and child psychiatrists can diagnose and treat this challenging group of patients.
Subject
Children and adolescents affected are often severely impaired and at risk of developing severe long-term complications, including school failure, social isolation, physical disability, and psychiatric morbidity. Despite the enormous personal and family suffering and the large investment of resources in health, conversion disorder is often misdiagnosed, leading to unnecessary medical examinations, which end up creating a greater emotional burden for children and parents. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential for the recovery of affected patients.
Conclusions
Helping the patient and family to understand and accept the diagnosis should be the first step in the management of paediatric conversion disorder. The second step is to educate both patients and their families about the true nature of the symptoms. Paediatricians and child and adolescents psychiatrists should be able to use elements that configure a non-punitive approach to these patients and avoid direct confrontations, which could be responsible for therapeutic abandonment by the affected patients and their families.
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