Sniffing out olfactory reference syndrome.

Journal: The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa

Volume: 23

Issue: 

Year of Publication: 

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. US/UCT MRC Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Abstract summary 

Olfactory reference syndrome is characterised by the erroneous belief that one emits an unpleasant body odour. This results in significant distress and is often accompanied by repetitive behaviour such as frequent showering in an attempt to camouflage the perceived odour. The body odour concerns may have a delusional quality and do not respond to simple reassurance or counterexample. Herein, we report the case of an olfactory reference disorder (ORD) patient who had received multiple medical interventions and undergone polysurgery prior to an accurate diagnosis being established. ORD may lead to significant disability, yet often goes unrecognised for many years. For many patients, poor insight will contribute to their reluctance to consider psychiatric treatment. This case demonstrated that a multimodal treatment approach comprising judicious medication use, combined with cognitive behavioural therapy, in the context of a therapeutic alliance yielded therapeutic success.

Authors & Co-authors:  Thomas Eileen E Voges Juané J Chiliza Bonginkosi B Stein Dan J DJ Lochner Christine C

Study Outcome 

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Statistics
Citations :  Thomas E, du Plessis S, Chiliza B, Lochner C, Stein D. Olfactory reference disorder: Diagnosis, epidemiology and management. CNS Drugs [serial online] 2015. [cited 2015 Nov 25] Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26563195
Authors :  5
Identifiers
Doi : 1016
SSN : 2078-6786
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Other Terms
Study Design
Case Study,Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
South Africa