Ethical and management considerations in factitious illness: one and the same.

The literature on factitious illness raises many ethical problems regarding diagnosis and treatment. The author briefly reviews ethical issues in factitious illness and argues for viewing these patients as autonomous citizens, capable of accepting responsibility for their behavior. Some factitiously ill patients psychologically resemble those with borderline personality disorder, and ethical implications are developed. In a case example, the author illustrates how good clinical management assists with the resolution or prevention of these ethical dilemmas.