Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms in Hospitalized Patients
A 9-Year Retrospective Observational Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15524553 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicola Poloni (0000-0001-5173-087X, University of Insubria), Marta Ielmini (0000-0001-5232-2122, University of Insubria), Ivano Caselli (0000-0002-2163-8025, University of Insubria), Francesca Ceccon (University of Insubria), Lucia Bianchi (University of Insubria), Celeste Isella (University of Insubria), Camilla Callegari (0000-0002-0624-9988, University of Insubria, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Pages | 626-626 |
| Publication date | 2018-11-23 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00626 |
| PMID | 30532714 |
| OpenAlex | W2900893395 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 20 |
Introduction: "Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms" (MUPS) defines a subgroup of patients presenting physical symptoms of unclear origin. The study aims to profile clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients with MUPS. Materials and Methods: This 9-years observational retrospective study assesses all patients admitted between 2008 and 2016 in the divisions of neurology and gastroenterology. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were evaluated: gender, age, diagnosis or diagnostic hypothesis, presence of psychiatric comorbidities, psychiatric evaluation, pharmacological treatment, number of admissions/visits. Results: Among 2,479 neurological patients 10.1% presented MUPS. Patients were more frequently women (63.5%), with a mean age of about 50 years. Reported symptoms were headache (22.6%), seizures (8.7%), vertigo (5.9%), fibromyalgia (5.5%), paresthesia (5.1%), visual disturbances (5.1%), amnesia (3.9%). The diagnosis was somatoform disorder in 6.3% of cases, conversion disorder in 2.7%, and somatic symptom disorder in 1.5% only. 2,560 outpatients were evaluated in gastroenterology division. 9.6% ( n = 248) of patients had MUPS; 62.1% of them were women. The most affected age group ranged between 15 and 45 years. The most frequent diagnoses were functional abdominal pain (50%), dysmotility-like dyspepsia (26.6%), irritable bowel syndrome (10.4%), meteorism of unknown cause (2.4%), hiccup (1.6%), burning mouth syndrome (1.2%). No patients received a diagnosis of somatic symptom disorder. Discussion: Patients with MUPS are more often women, of middle age, with self-referred specific symptomatology. While neurological patients received a diagnostic-therapeutic approach in line with the literature, gastroenterological patients mainly received antipsychotics. A more comprehensive assessment and a development of psychoeducational interventions are needed to improve patients' quality and quantity of life
Abdominal pain · Anxiety · Conversion disorder · Fibromyalgia · Irritable bowel syndrome · myalgia · Observational study · Psychiatry · Retrospective cohort study · Somatization · Somatization disorder · Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies · Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research · Medicine · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Internal Medicine · Neurology · Pediatrics
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| Citations per year | 0.71 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2023 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |