Monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis: belief of contracting rabies.

The authors describe a forty-one-year-old female with possible monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis (MHP): a delusional belief that she had contracted rabies. This is the first report of this type of delusion in MHP. The patient failed to respond to multiple somatic therapies and finally made a serious suicide attempt. The authors discuss the reasons for the failed treatment and suggest a sequential protocol for treatment of MHP based on the current literature.