The Clinical Challenge of Medically Unexplained Symptoms
Many patients consult their general practitioner (GP) because they experience bodily symptoms. Western medicine prioritises the assessment of symptoms to diagnose disease, but symptoms are not exclusively signs of disease. Some symptoms represent ordinary bodily sensations causing minor concern, others arise or persist due to processes which are not necessarily related to underlying disease. When symptoms persist, but cannot be attributed to disease, they are commonly described as “medically unexplained symptoms”.
Modern Medicine – Issue 6 2022
