Diagnosis and management of medically unexplained visual loss; one clinician ’s perspective

First, some comments about terminology. Visual loss without organic basis is variously termed hysterical, malingering, factitious, non-organic, non-physiologic, functional, psychogenic, and medically unexplained. I avoid the term hysterical because has been used specifically as a psychiatric diagnosis and has an implicit gender bias. Malingering imputes motives that are difficult to demonstrate objectively. I reserve factitious for conditions actively cause by the patient, e.g. corneal injury as the result of the purposeful use of ocular irritants, or by someone else, sometimes called Munchausen by proxy.
Source: Survey of Ophthalmology - Category: Opthalmology Authors: Tags: Editorials Source Type: research