Delusions of parasitosis and delusions of parasitosis by proxy in a mother and her children.

Delusions of parasitosis by proxy is an uncommon entity wherein an individual projects a delusional belief onto another person who lacks capacity to hold the same belief. We report a case of delusions of parasitosis by proxy in a mother who believed that she was infested with scabies and projected her fixed, delusional belief of scabies infestation onto her children. She subjected her children to numerous home remedies and medical treatments as well as removing them from school in an effort to cure them of the supposed infestation. Child maltreatment can be a concern in such cases with a low threshold for involving child protective services if harm to the children is suspected.

Perceptions of Parental Leave Among Ophthalmologists.

Importance: Benchmarking attitudes surrounding parental leave among posttraining North American ophthalmologists may reveal possible areas for intervention. Objective: To evaluate perceptions of current parental leave policy and culture among posttraining North American ophthalmologists. Design, Setting, and Participants: This nonvalidated survey used a 19-item online questionnaire. A convenience sample of 186 self-identified North American-based ophthalmologists who had completed training was obtained using listservs, residency program coordinators, and social media. Data collection occurred from May to July 2022. Main Outcomes and Measures: Descriptive analysis demonstrated response frequencies. Pearson χ2 comparison of means was performed for categorical variables. Two-tailed t tests were performed for continuous variables. Results: Among the 186 surveys completed, 105 respondents (56.5%) identified as female, 76 (40.9%) worked in academia, 133 (71.5%) were 1 to 20 years out of training, and 156 (83.9%) had children. Attitudes toward stop-the-clock policies, or delays in tenure/promotion/partnership review when taking leave, were mixed. Of 171 respondents, 78 (45.6%) thought that stop-the-clock policies should be optional, 39 (22.8%) thought that they should be required, and 31 (18.1%) thought that they should be removed. Of 76 academicians responding, 56 (73.7%) and 49 (64.5%) were unaware if their institution had a stop-the-clock policy for tenure review or promotion review, respectively. Male and female respondents differed in feeling comfortable with taking leave (36 of 66 [54.5%] vs 67 of 90 [74.4%], respectively; P = .04), as well as in their ratings of stress about peer perception on a scale of 0 to 10 (3.70 vs 4.81, respectively; P = .05). Private practitioners and academicians differed in confirmation of leave options for both parents (52 of 101 [51.5%] vs 49 of 69 [71.0%], respectively; P = .02) and ratings of financial stress (7.10 vs 5.43, respectively; P = .004) and research considerations (1.60 vs 3.85, respectively; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: Results of this survey study support the hypothesis that demographic factors affect attitudes toward parental leave among posttraining ophthalmologists; policies could be better publicized. Feelings regarding policies and leave were mixed. These findings should be viewed as hypothesis generating because the survey was not validated and the associations provided could be due to confounding factors.