Analyzing the problems in managing patients with medically unexplained symptoms. Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine

摘要

Patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are one of the most challenging groups for primary care practitioners. There is wide agreement that central problems in managing these patients remain unsolved. Many of these patients are perceived to be difficult, complaining, and to have inflexible attitudes about their symptoms. This presents a clear dilemma, as a good doctor-patient interaction is a fundamental precondition for successful management of these patients. In managing these problems, it is not only in the patient's behavior, but frequently, also in the physician's attitude. A compounding problem is that diagnostic systems, treatment guidelines, and many health care regulations in medicine neglect the problem of MUS. The following editorial will highlight some of these problems in more detail.