Voodoo in the general hospital. A case of hexing and regional enteritis.

We have observed the case of a hexed patient that emphasizes the interplay between modern medical practice and the influence of a supernatural voodoo subculture. Psychosocial stresses involved in the patient's illness (regional enteritis) added to the complexity of the clinical problem. The presence of ambivalence in the patient and her mother concerning their systems of belief, and their unwillingness to accept totally the treatment modalities of either modern medicine or voodoo, probably prevented the patient's predicted death.