She suffered no adverse consequences in other areas of her life and was not depressed. She only wanted to find and eliminate the parasite that was tormenting her. Findings on repeat physical examination were normal, and psychotherapeutic referral was suggested. The patient became hostile, promptly left the office and was lost to follow-up. Central to the diagnosis is a fixed, false belief of a parasitic infestation.
Patients are usually fully functional in all other areas.
The prevalence of DOP is not known. The condition is more common in middle-age women. No risk factors have been identified, and no predilections among socioeconomic, occupational or racial backgrounds is evident. 3 Patients often seek the advice of multiple physicians to seek sympathy. Patients often have received multiple treatments from multiple physicians and will also use self-concocted preparations to rid themselves of the perceived infestation.