Journal of psychosomatic research
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In patients with chronic pain, catastrophizing is a significant determinant of self-rated pain intensity and disability. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) was developed to assist with both treatment planning and outcome assessment; to date, no German version has been validated. ⋯ The psychometric properties of our German version of the PCS were comparable to those reported in previous studies for the original English version. It represents a valuable tool in the assessment of German-speaking chronic low back pain patients.
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Anxiety is a commonly reported discomfort in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) but is rarely assessed routinely in a systematic manner. The main aim of this study was to assess criterion validity of the Faces Anxiety Scale in relation to the State-Anxiety Inventory (SAI) in intensive care patients able to respond verbally to the items in the SAI of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. It also reports on the severity of anxiety in intensive care patients not receiving mechanical ventilation. ⋯ The Faces Anxiety Scale is a valid single-item, self-report measure of state anxiety in intensive care patients that is easy to administer and imposes minimal respondent burden. It has the potential to be a useful instrument for the assessment of state anxiety by clinicians and for research into the reduction of anxiety in this vulnerable population.
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The aims of this study were to characterize patient-physician agreement on various psychological and somatic symptoms in internal medicine inpatients and to identify predictors of symptom severity underestimation by physicians. ⋯ Depressed patients seem to be at greater risk of symptom underestimation by their physicians--a finding bearing implications for avoidance of underdiagnosis and insufficient treatment. Mutual understanding could be improved by better doctor-patient communication skills. Brief self-report depression screeners might help to reliably identify patients at risk for symptom underestimation by physicians.
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Psychosocial comorbidity and quality of life (QOL) and its association with knowledge, utilization, and need for psychosocial support have been studied in long-term breast cancer survivors. ⋯ Findings show the long-term impact of breast cancer and indicate need for patient education, screening for psychosocial distress, and implementation of psychological interventions tailored in particular for older women.
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High prevalence of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) has been reported among many groups of cancer survivors when compared to the general population. However, this topic has rarely been studied in long-term survivors of testicular cancer (TCSs). The present multi-centre study examines the prevalence of chronic CRF in Norwegian TCSs compared to chronic general fatigue (GF) in the Norwegian general population, and associations between a variety of relevant variables and CRF in TCSs. ⋯ Chronic CRF is far more common among TCSs than chronic GF in the general population and is associated with poor QOL and multiple psychological and somatic health problems. As a consequence, fatigue should be in focus during routine follow-ups as well as later in the general medical care of TCSs.