[Medical child abuse, another name for Munchausen's syndrome by proxy].

Medical child abuse or its better known name, Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy, is a form of child maltreatment combining physical and emotional abuse as well as child neglect. As in other forms of child abuse and neglect that pediatricians encounter, the diagnosis is medical and is based on the existence of actual or potential harm to the child. A high index of suspicion is necessary when the medical team is faced with inexplicable findings as well as repeated treatment failure. There is extensive variability in the manifestation of this syndrome as well as a wide range of severity including the risk to the patient's life. In this article we describe medical child abuse and the means of diagnosing the syndrome. It is also stressed that, as in the case of any other form of child maltreatment, reporting is mandatory.