I reperti insoliti necessitano di indagini approfondite. (Italian)

Unusual findings need attentive investigation. (English)

We report the case of a 1.5-year-old male child referred to secondary care with an unusual presentation of a highly concentrated urine sediment of red color. Urine microscope analysis showed viscous large red spots suggesting the presence of an exogenous contaminant. Infrared spectroscopy revealed traces of seeds, crumbs and bread crust; chromatographic analysis showed high levels of lycopene and β-carotene, aliphatic hydrocarbon carotenoids extracted from plants like tomatoes, papayas, and watermelons not normally detectable in urine. Clinical history of multiple hospitalization for unexplained persistent or recurrent hematuria, discrepancy between clinical findings and medical history, inconsistent with the child’s overall health, alteration of urinary parameters in samples collected at home or delivered by the mother, sometimes not confirmed in samples collected by nursing staff, were suggestive of factitious disorder imposed an another (FDIA) or Munchausen syndrome by proxy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biochimica Clinica is the property of SIBioC - Laboratory Medicine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)