Citation

Mudgal V, Rastogi P, Niranjan V, Razdan R. Gen. Psychiatr. 2020; 33(1): e100095.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, MGM Medical College, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/gpsych-2019-100095

PMID

32095778

PMCID

PMC7008406

Abstract

Self-mutilation is often associated with psychiatric disorders. We describe here a 22-year-old male Indian with decreased sleep, aggressive behaviour, self-muttering, disorganised behaviour, frequent spitting, biting and self-mutilation; he bit off his right ring finger and left thumb (Van Gogh syndrome). Self-harm behaviour was frequently evidenced by family members resulting in various injuries. The patient was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was treated with anti-psychotics which resulted in a decrease in his behavioural disturbances along with treatment for his self-mutilation injuries. Here we discuss Van Gogh syndrome's presentation of self-mutilation in paranoid schizophrenia and its implications.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Language: en

Keywords

Paranoid Schizophrenia; Self-mutilation; Van Gogh Syndrome