Many patients do not like the term
medically unexplained symptoms.
What do general practice patients want when they present
medically unexplained symptoms, and why do their doctors feel pressurized.
The clinical vignettes we chose may not be representative of commonly seen cases of
medically unexplained symptoms.
Psychological stress has been invoked as a potential modifier of the symptomatic responses that are characteristic of
medically unexplained symptoms (MUSs) attributed to low-level chemical exposures, including Gulf War illness, multiple chemical sensitivity, and sick building syndrome (Kipen and Fiedler 1999, 2002a, 2002b).
A proposed classification,
medically unexplained symptoms spectrum disorder, attempts to categorize patients with MUPS based on severity and duration of symptoms, as well as medical and/or psychiatric comorbidities (Table).
They found that acupuncture had a significant and sustained benefit for these patients and consequently acupuncture could be safely added to the therapies used by practitioners when treating frequently attending patients with
medically unexplained symptoms.
Study leader Dr Terry Quinn said: "We found a significant increase in presentations with
medically unexplained symptoms during the full moon.
There are many people with very stressful jobs who do suffer from
medically unexplained symptoms that can't be ignored.
Medically unexplained symptoms and chronic functional syndromes are common but few health care professionals have had formal training about their connection to psychosocial issues.
Although
medically unexplained symptoms are common in these patients, most who complain of "chronic" Lyme disease have no evidence of ever having had the disease, based on history or serologic tests, he said.
