Capgras Syndrome in a Child with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Case Report

Abstract

Capgras syndrome, which is among the delusional misidentification syndromes, is rarely seen in childhood. In Capgras syndrome, the subject believes that original people and objects have been replaced by similar ones. In this article, an unusual appearance of Capgras syndrome in a child diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder is presented. A 10-year-old female child had been experiencing fear about her parents, especially that they had changed and that her real mother had been replaced by a replica. She had compulsive behaviors such as controlling and asking again. In our case, Capgras delusion was determined as an obsessive/intrusive thought. As in our case, misidentification syndromes may occur in the form of unusual obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children and adolescents. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with fluoxetine was successfully used for treating this case. Therefore, we suggest that successful results can be obtained with the combination of CBT and serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the management of similar cases.