Recurrent nosocomial polymicrobial sepsis secondary to child abuse.

Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a rare form of child abuse that can cause great diagnostic difficulties. We treated an 8-year-old boy who had recurrent polymicrobial sepsis over 6 years. An extensive evaluation to determine the infectious focus and to exclude immunodeficiency was carried out before it was determined that his mother had repeatedly introduced material containing faecal or vaginal bacterial flora into his intravenous lines.