Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review
Purpose Delusions of pregnancy are associated with functional impairment and psychological distress. Previous works have focused on characterizing their etiology and identifying contributory social and cultural factors. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of the literature on medical o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2020.1779696 |
| _version_ | 1797685830511230976 |
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| author | Soumya Gogia Anastasia Grieb Albert Jang Mollie R. Gordon John Coverdale |
| author_facet | Soumya Gogia Anastasia Grieb Albert Jang Mollie R. Gordon John Coverdale |
| author_sort | Soumya Gogia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose Delusions of pregnancy are associated with functional impairment and psychological distress. Previous works have focused on characterizing their etiology and identifying contributory social and cultural factors. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of the literature on medical or surgical comorbidities associated with delusions of pregnancy. Methods We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and PsycInfo using the terms “pregnancy delusion,” “delusional pregnancy,” “pseudocyesis”, and “false/pseudo/phantom/spurious pregnancy” to identify all published cases of delusional pregnancies. We included cases in which medical or surgical factors might have contributed to the delusion. We extracted the following information from selected case reports: patient age, psychiatric diagnoses, medications, medical comorbidities, somatic complaints, treatment, and outcome. Results We found that 23 of 140 cases (16.4%) were potentially influenced by concomitant medical or surgical conditions including gallstones, abdominal tumors, hyperprolactinemia, constipation, a tubal cyst, and esophageal achalasia. Medical or surgical treatment was pursued in 15 of these 23 cases, followed by mitigation of the delusion in ten cases. Conclusions We emphasize the importance of a thorough workup including physical and gynecological examinations in patients presenting with a delusion of pregnancy. Clinicians should recognize and overcome potential barriers to undertaking comprehensive assessments in order to prevent delays in management and treatment of underlying medical or surgical conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:57:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41f17779d29747d092f1a6498ad42579 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0167-482X 1743-8942 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:57:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-41f17779d29747d092f1a6498ad425792023-09-14T12:44:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupJournal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology0167-482X1743-89422022-01-01431515710.1080/0167482X.2020.17796961779696Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic reviewSoumya Gogia0Anastasia Grieb1Albert Jang2Mollie R. Gordon3John Coverdale4School of Medicine, Baylor College of MedicineSchool of Medicine, Baylor College of MedicineDepartment of Internal Medicine, Tulane University School of MedicineDepartment of Psychiatry, Baylor College of MedicineDepartment of Psychiatry, Baylor College of MedicinePurpose Delusions of pregnancy are associated with functional impairment and psychological distress. Previous works have focused on characterizing their etiology and identifying contributory social and cultural factors. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of the literature on medical or surgical comorbidities associated with delusions of pregnancy. Methods We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and PsycInfo using the terms “pregnancy delusion,” “delusional pregnancy,” “pseudocyesis”, and “false/pseudo/phantom/spurious pregnancy” to identify all published cases of delusional pregnancies. We included cases in which medical or surgical factors might have contributed to the delusion. We extracted the following information from selected case reports: patient age, psychiatric diagnoses, medications, medical comorbidities, somatic complaints, treatment, and outcome. Results We found that 23 of 140 cases (16.4%) were potentially influenced by concomitant medical or surgical conditions including gallstones, abdominal tumors, hyperprolactinemia, constipation, a tubal cyst, and esophageal achalasia. Medical or surgical treatment was pursued in 15 of these 23 cases, followed by mitigation of the delusion in ten cases. Conclusions We emphasize the importance of a thorough workup including physical and gynecological examinations in patients presenting with a delusion of pregnancy. Clinicians should recognize and overcome potential barriers to undertaking comprehensive assessments in order to prevent delays in management and treatment of underlying medical or surgical conditions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2020.1779696delusionpregnancypseudocyesisreviewmedical comorbidities |
| spellingShingle | Soumya Gogia Anastasia Grieb Albert Jang Mollie R. Gordon John Coverdale Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology delusion pregnancy pseudocyesis review medical comorbidities |
| title | Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review |
| title_full | Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review |
| title_short | Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review |
| title_sort | medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy a systematic review |
| topic | delusion pregnancy pseudocyesis review medical comorbidities |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2020.1779696 |
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