Overinterpretation of gastroduodenal motility studies: two cases involving Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

ABSTRACT

Two children were thought to have an atypical gastroduodenal motility disorder because of the history and clinical course; both had received parenteral alimentation because of claims of inability to tolerate enteral feedings, and both continued to have unusual medical problems during parenteral alimentation. Both children had motility studies that were interpreted by a pediatric gastroenterologist to be "abnormal" and "diagnostic" of a motility disorder, but each was eventually shown to have a behavioral abnormality related to Munchausen syndrome by proxy.