Pacientes difíciles o relaciones difíciles en Psiquiatría: Un estudio de casos y controles

摘要

Difficult patients involve a great deal of work to professionals and Mental Health teams. Epidemiological data show that the rate is up to one third of the patients having been mostly studied in Mental Health and Primary Care. Using a case control design the objective of this study was to characterize difficult patients and the factors that could explain the differences observed. A convenience sample was chosen. Two controls were taken by each case. Controls were paired by sex and age. Hypothesis: Characteristics of personality of patients, allow us to explain the differences observed in difficult patients in Psychiatry. Results: There were no significant differences according by age, sex, marital status, educational level, time span of treatment and clinical diagnosis, but significant differences were observed in the number of medications taken, time span in psychotherapy, social work assistance and personality disorders, being more frequent in difficult patients. Discussion: It′s discussed the convenience of the expression difficult patient, rather than difficult situation considering the review of research and the clinical experience. Difficult situations are found more frequently in personality disorders. It′s analyzed the implications when dealing with this sort of conditions. Although the importance of this topic, it has been poorly studied in this milieu.