**** woman is found wandering in another city. She has no information about her past life, identity, or name. She uses a new name and starts a new life. Which of the following conditions is the patient suffering from?

Appeared in: AIIMS M.Sc. Nsg Entrance exam-2026

Explanation

Dissociative Fugue, as the patient's presentation aligns perfectly with its core features.
Key symptoms include sudden, unexpected travel away from home, an inability to recall one's past and personal identity, and the assumption of a new identity.
The scenario describes the woman wandering to a new city, having no memory of her past, and adopting a new name and life, which are the classic manifestations of a fugue state.
According to DSM-5, dissociative fugue is now a specifier for dissociative amnesia, described as 'purposeful travel or bewildered wandering that is associated with amnesia for identity or for other important autobiographical information'.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Depersonalization disorder involves a feeling of detachment from oneself or one's body, not amnesia for identity or purposeful travel.
Option C: Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states (alters), not the assumption of a single new identity after travel.
Option D: While the patient has amnesia, the term 'dissociative amnesia' alone does not capture the key features of purposeful travel and assumption of a new identity. Dissociative fugue is the more specific and accurate diagnosis for this clinical picture.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Differential diagnosis of dissociative disorders based on clinical presentation to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Nurses encountering a patient who is disoriented or confused about their identity must prioritize safety. The patient may be vulnerable, and it's crucial to ensure they are in a secure environment.
A thorough assessment is vital, including ruling out organic causes for amnesia such as head injury, substance use, or neurological conditions like transient global amnesia.
Management involves providing a supportive, low-stimulus environment. Reorientation should be done gently, without forcing memories, as this can cause further distress.

How to Approach the Question

First, carefully read the clinical scenario and identify the key symptoms presented by the patient.
The core features are: 1) wandering/travel to a new place, 2) amnesia for past life and identity, and 3) assumption of a new identity and life.
Next, evaluate each of the answer options based on their definitions.
Depersonalization involves detachment, not amnesia and travel.
Dissociative identity disorder involves multiple personalities, not one new one.
Dissociative amnesia is memory loss, but the specific syndrome involving travel and a new identity is fugue.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Differential diagnosis of dissociative disorders based on clinical presentation.
Stem keywords: wandering, another city, no information about past life, identity, new name, new life
Lead-in keywords: Which of the following conditions
Clinical cues: [object Object]
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QglzvHeo6-vbxI13rXtNTg

Reference Book

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) pp. 1408-1410, 1404-1406

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 6417-6419

Practise the full AIIMS M.Sc. Nsg Entrance exam-2026

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.

Attempt this paper Attempt in the NPrep app