Parents gave baby alcohol and antihistamines in case of induced illness
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j1451 (Published 21 March 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j1451- Clare Dyer
- The BMJ
The parents of a baby boy secretly administered alcohol and antihistamines to him over several months in hospital while puzzled doctors put him through extensive tests to try to find out what was wrong, a High Court judge has ruled.
Mr Justice MacDonald said that the baby’s mother or father, or both, gave him amounts of alcohol which could have been fatal had it not been for the emergency treatment he received as a hospital inpatient.
The case is the latest example to come into the public domain of fabricated or induced illness (FII), formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health issued guidance …
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