Psychosomatic Diagnosis: a literature review
by Adail Ivan De Lemos
layout: strict-home-rr title: “Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology Abstract”
by
Adail Ivan De Lemos
Summary: Structural, epidemiological and medical biases tend to restrict the application of a proper diagnostic procedure in clinical practice. The aim of this review is to discuss factors affecting the occurrence, nature and presentation of psychosomatic diagnoses and their connotation with pejorative overtones. This paper investigated the multifactorial causes for these occurrences and revealed their implications for clinical management and medical research. It is suggested that psychological assessment should be provided in the early stages of the clinical investigation and some diagnoses should be reintroduced in current psychiatric classifications. Pejorative overtone has also been attributed to several diagnoses, particularly those related to somatisation. The use of moral remarks added to medical diagnosis should be banned from literature since it has distorted both practice and statistical results.
Psychosomatic Diagnosis: a literature review
by
Adail Ivan De Lemos
Posted 30 May 2001
The article addresses important issues in clinical medicine. The problems of
psychosomatic diagnoses are frequent. How these are viewed and defined will
determine a prominent component of medical care. The author performs a service
by discussing the development of psychosomatic diagnoses, the effect of their
perjorative connotations, and how these conditions may vary depending on the
level of medical care.
For the general reader, the article would be improved by clarification of the terminology and a more focused presentation. For example, it is difficult to know what is meant by "informed imagination " (page 8; "...whereby a symptom that is not readily classified will still be understood as part of a system of medical knowledge, and an attempt will be make to establish a diagnosis, however, conjectural.") Unfortunately, these types of complexities are frequent. The force and meaning of the article might be improved by starting with points discussed in the Conclusion and using the information presented to amplify on those specific points in that context. As now structured, it is difficult to relate the issues raised in the individual sections to the article as a whole.
Would the author wish to quote from the current DSM-IV and not only from the DSM-III?
Morris Fisher, M.D.
morris.fisher@worldnet.att.net
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