OBJECTIVE To analyse the association of direct and indirect costs in patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) with somatic symptom severity (SSS). METHODS A cross-sectional cost analysis for retrospective 6 months was conducted in 294 primary care patients with MUS. Health care utilisation and loss of productivity were measured by questionnaires. SSS was measured using the "Patient ...

Background General practitioners often encounter patients with medically unexplained symptoms. These patients share many common features, but there is little agreement about the best diagnostic framework for describing them. Aims This study aimed to explore how GPs make sense of medically unexplained symptoms. Design Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 GPs. Each participant was as...

Medikal değerlendirmeyle, organik bir sebebe dayandırılamayan ve en az üç aydır devam eden bu şikayetler, DSM-V’de somatik şikayetlerin MUS tıbbi olarak açıklanan semptomlar (MES) gerekli ikiliğe ayrılması önerilmiştir. tanılı hastaların, artmış anksiyete, depresyon bozulmuş sosyal fonksiyonları ile belirgin morbiditelerinin olduğu, ayrıca yüksek seviyede sağlık harcamalarına sebep oldukları bi...

This paper proposes that malingered symptoms may become internalized due to the self-deceptive power of cognitive dissonance. Studies demonstrating how other-deception may turn into self-deception are briefly discussed, as are clinical notions about the overlap between malingering and medically unexplained symptoms. In our view this literature showcases the relevance of cognitive dissonance for...

Countless cross-sectional surveys of primary and secondary care have demonstrated the ubiquitous nature of medically unexplained symptoms. If grouping diverse symptoms under one heading is appropriate, they account for over half of all new presentations in secondary medical care (Nimnuan et al. 2001a) and a sizeable proportion of ‘frequent attenders ’ in secondary care have predominantly medica...