Munchausen syndrome with pulmonary manifestations.

Three patients with Munchausen's syndrome were seen with symptoms suggesting serious pulmonary disease. One patient, a student respiratory therapist, simulated respiratory failure which resulted in a tracheostomy and prolonged ventilator support. The second, a licensed practical nurse, feigned a lupus erythematosis syndrome, with alarming, simulated hemoptysis produced by slashing the posterior tongue with a razor blade. The third patient, a nurse, underwent exhaustive testing at three hospitals for profuse "hemoptysis" until she admitted she obtained the blood from her arm by venesection.