What should we say to patients with unexplained neurological symptoms? How explanation affects offence

Abstract

Objectives Unexplained neurological symptoms (UNS) are common presentations in neurology but there is no consensus as to what they should be called. This is important, as patient acceptance is a predictor of outcome and there is evidence that patients are unhappy with the terms used. Patient understanding of these terms may be limited, however, and, once explained, the terms may seem more or less offensive. We sought to elicit patients’ views of 7 frequently used terms for UNS, and whether these changed once definitions were provided. Methods 185 participants were recruited from a medical outpatients’ waiting area. They were given questionnaires outlining a hypothetical situation of leg weak..