Survivorship of severe medically unexplained symptoms in palliative care

Abstract

Objectives: Patients who articulate their psychological distress primarily through physical symptoms (referred to as medically unexplained symptoms (MUS)) pose a challenge to the skills of most clinicians, including palliative care physicians. The philosophical underpinnings of palliative care with a stated focus on symptom management and care of the person in their psychosociospiritual context lend itself to the care of these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics to improve identification of this patient group within palliative care. Methods: Here, we report a case series of 6 patients with severe MUS who were referred to palliative care. We use illustrative..