A person was found in a bizarre location, appearing confused. The caretaker reports he had no memory of how he got there, and the patient is unaware of his travel to the location. What is the most likely diagnosis?

Correct Answer: C. Dissociative fugue

Dissociative fugue is characterized by sudden, unplanned travel away from home or workplace with inability to recall one's past, combined with confusion about personal identity or assumption of a new identity. The key discriminating feature here is the purposeful, organized travel to a bizarre location coupled with complete amnesia for the journey itself. The patient is found confused and disoriented in an unfamiliar place with no memory of how he arrived—this is pathognomonic for fugue state. Unlike simple dissociative amnesia (which involves memory loss without travel), fugue involves actual physical relocation. The caretaker's report that the patient has no awareness of his travel is crucial: this indicates the fugue state occurred during a period of altered consciousness where the person functioned but was amnestic for the episode. Fugue states typically last hours to days and resolve spontaneously. They occur in response to severe psychological stress or trauma and represent a dissociative escape mechanism. The patient's bizarre location and confusion upon discovery are consistent with the disoriented state that characterizes emergence from a fugue episode. This is distinct from psychotic episodes where the patient would have active delusions or hallucinations during the episode, and distinct from DID where there would be evidence of distinct alternate personalities with their own memories and identities.

Why the other options are wrong

A. Dissociative identity disorder — DID involves the presence of two or more distinct personality states with separate identities, memories, and behavioral patterns that recurrently take control of behavior. While DID can involve amnesia, it requires evidence of multiple distinct alters with their own characteristics. This case shows no mention of alternate personalities or switching between identities—only a single episode of travel with amnesia, which is characteristic of fugue, not DID. B. Dissociative amnesia — Dissociative amnesia involves loss of memory for important personal information, typically following severe psychological stress, but without purposeful travel or change of location. The patient remains in their usual environment. The critical feature distinguishing this case is the organized journey to a bizarre location—the patient actually traveled somewhere, which is the defining feature of fugue, not simple amnesia. D. Psychotic episode — Psychotic episodes involve loss of reality testing with active delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized thinking during the episode. In this case, the patient functioned well enough to travel purposefully to a location, suggesting intact reality testing during the fugue state. Psychotic patients would typically show active psychotic symptoms when found, not merely confusion and amnesia for travel.

High-Yield Facts

Mnemonics

FUGUE vs AMNESIA Fugue = Flight (travel away) + amnesia. Amnesia = Amnesia alone (no travel). Fugue patient goes somewhere; amnesia patient stays put. DID vs FUGUE DID = Distinct Identities (multiple alters, each with own memory). FUGUE = Flight + Unaware + Gone + Episodic (one episode, one person, amnestic for travel).

NBE Trap

NBE often pairs dissociative amnesia with fugue to test whether students understand that fugue is amnesia plus purposeful travel, not amnesia alone. Students who know "dissociative amnesia" exists may incorrectly choose it without recognizing the critical feature of organized relocation.

Clinical Pearl

In Indian clinical practice, dissociative fugue is often seen in young adults facing acute family or marital crises—a patient may suddenly disappear during a family conflict and be found days later in another city with no memory of the journey. Recognition of the stressor and supportive counseling typically lead to rapid recovery, making early psychiatric intervention crucial.

_Reference: Harrison Ch. 387 (Dissociative Disorders); DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (Dissociative Fugue)_