Somatic Delusion or Self-Mutilation in a Schizophrenic Woman: A Psychiatric Emergency Room Case Report

The authors describe a schizophrenic woman who came to a psychiatric emergency room because of pain from needles in her arms. Her history suggested that she was experiencing somatic delusions as part of her chronic schizophrenic process. Radiological studies showed actual neddles in one arm due to past episodes of self-mutilation. The case illustrates the hazards involved in basing diagnostic and therapeutic assumptions on inadequate data.