Management of medically unexplained symptoms

Medically Unexplained Symptoms (Assessment and Management)

Many of the affected patients do not receive a correct diagnosis and undergo numerous fruitless investigations and attempts at treatment. The narrow focus on the somatic aspects of a complex problem may reinforce their concerns about having a physical disease, make them less satisfied with the healthcare system, contribute to the development of chronic disablement and cause healthcare costs to ...

Medically Unexplained Symptoms (Assessment and Management)

Many of the affected patients do not receive a correct diagnosis and undergo numerous fruitless investigations and attempts at treatment. The narrow focus on the somatic aspects of a complex problem may reinforce their concerns about having a physical disease, make them less satisfied with the healthcare system, contribute to the development of chronic disablement and cause healthcare costs to ...

Medically unexplained neurological symptoms

A 56-year-old woman with seronegative polyarthritis presented with a four-year history of lower back pain and right-sided sciatica. On examination she had reduced power and impaired sensation in her right leg. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine revealed anterior degenerative slip of L4 on L5 with moderate overall reduction in canal calibre and osteophyte encroachment in the right lat...

Explaining medically unexplained symptoms.

Patients with medically unexplained symptoms comprise from 15% to 30% of all primary care consultations. Physicians often assume that psychological factors account for these symptoms, but current theories of psychogenic causation, somatization, and somatic amplification cannot fully account for common unexplained symptoms. Psychophysiological and sociophysiological models provide plausible medi...

Consequences of Medically Unexplained Symptoms