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Psychocutaneous Diseases

»How do the fields of psychiatry and dermatology overlap?
»What types of psychocutaneous disease are encountered in dermatology?
»How often do patients with dermatologic disorders have associated psychologic morbidity?
»What is the differential diagnosis of patients who complain that they are infested with parasites?
»Define obsession or compulsion, phobia, delusion, and hallucination.
»What is “delusions of parasitosis”?
»How do you diagnose this disorder?
»How do you treat this problem?
»What are the major side effects of pimozide?
»What if the patient is noncompliant with pimozide treatment?
»What is Ekbom syndrome?
»What is dysmorphophobia?
»Name the three major categories of self-inflicted skin lesions. What differentiates them?
»What are the clinical manifestations of dermatitis artefacta?
»How should patients with dermatitis artefacta be treated?
»What is the Gardner-Diamond syndrome?
»How do Munchausen syndrome and Munchausen syndrome by proxy differ?
»What is the differential diagnosis of patchy nonscarring alopecia?
»What is the psychiatric diagnosis associated with trichotillomania?
»How do you differentiate among the different forms of nonscarring alopecia?
»Can a biopsy help in the differential diagnosis of patchy nonscarring alopecia?
»What is trichotemnomania?
»What are neurotic excoriations?
»How do you treat this disorder?
»What are the side effects of fluoxetine?
»What is glossodynia?
»Name some primary dermatologic disorders that might result in secondary psychiatric problems. What sorts of problems might these patients have?
»Can stress exacerbate a primary dermatologic disorder?

 
 
 

Name the three major categories of self-inflicted skin lesions. What differentiates them?

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorders: Patients acknowledge being driven to self-inflict skin lesions through conscious repetitive action.
  • Dermatitis artefacta, or factitious dermatitis: Patients self-inflict skin lesions but adamantly deny doing so. The motive for their actions remains unclear. Although they are conscious of what they are doing, patients are unable to change their behavior easily.
  • Malingering: Patients consciously and deceitfully self-inflict skin lesions for a goal that is recognizable when circumstances are known. The behavior may or may not eventually be acknowledged, but patients can stop producing the symptoms when they are no longer useful to them.