"Medically unexplained" symptoms and symptom disorders in primary care: prognosis-based recognition and classification.

Background: Many patients consult their GP because they experience bodily symptoms. In a substantial proportion of cases, the clinical picture does not meet the existing diagnostic criteria for diseases or disorders. This may be because symptoms are recent and evolving or because symptoms are persistent but, either by their character or the negative results of clinical investigation cannot be attributed to disease: so-called "medically unexplained symptoms" (MUS).

Multiple somatic symptoms in primary care patients: a cross-sectional study of consultation content, clinical management strategy and burden of encounter.

Background: Consultations involving patients with multiple somatic symptoms may be considered as challenging and time-consuming by general practitioners (GPs). Yet, little is known about the possible links between consultation characteristics and GP-experienced burden of encounter. We aimed to explore consultation content, clinical management strategies, time consumption and GP-experienced burden of encounters with patients suffering from multiple somatic symptoms as defined by the concept of bodily distress syndrome (BDS).

Bodily distress syndrome: A new diagnosis for functional disorders in primary care?

Background: Conceptualisation and classification of functional disorders appear highly inconsistent in the health-care system, particularly in primary care. Numerous terms and overlapping diagnostic criteria are prevalent of which many are considered stigmatising by general practitioners and patients. The lack of a clear concept challenges the general practitioner's decision-making when a diagnosis or a treatment approach must be selected for a patient with a functional disorder.

The prognosis of bodily distress syndrome: a cohort study in primary care.

Objective: Bodily distress syndrome (BDS) is a newly proposed diagnosis for functional disorders. The diagnosis is based on empirical research, but little is known about the course of the disease. We aimed to study the prognosis in terms of diagnosis stability over time.

Patient characteristics and frequency of bodily distress syndrome in primary care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Bodily distress syndrome (BDS) is a newly proposed diagnosis of medically unexplained symptoms, which is based on empirical research in primary care.

Aim: To estimate the frequency of BDS in primary care and describe the characteristics of patients with BDS.

Design And Setting: A cross-sectional study of primary care patients in urban and rural areas of Central Denmark Region.

A new questionnaire to identify bodily distress in primary care: The 'BDS checklist'.

Background: Functional symptoms and disorders are common in primary care. Bodily distress syndrome (BDS) is a newly proposed clinical diagnosis for functional disorders. The BDS diagnosis is based on empirical research, and the symptoms stated in the BDS criteria have been translated into a self-report questionnaire called the BDS checklist.