Rare case report of Van Gogh syndrome in a patient with paranoid schizophrenia

Abstract

Self-mutilation is often associated with psychiatric disorders. We describe here a 22-year-old male Indian with decreased sleep, aggressive behaviour, self-muttering, disorganised behaviour, frequent spitting, biting and self-mutilation; he bit off his right ring finger and left thumb (Van Gogh syndrome). Self-harm behaviour was frequently evidenced by family members resulting in various injuries. The patient was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was treated with anti-psychotics which resulted in a decrease in his behavioural disturbances along with treatment for his self-mutilation injuries. Here we discuss Van Gogh syndrome's presentation of self-mutilation in paranoid schizophrenia and its implications.

Keywords: Paranoid Schizophrenia; Self-mutilation; Van Gogh Syndrome.

Figure 1

The patient self-mutilated his right ring finger due to made phenomenon and auditory hallucination which was the primary psychopathology in a case of paranoid schizophrenia; the injury mandated immediate medical intervention and was managed by surgical support.