A study of patients with abdominal symptoms of undefined cause.

This paper describes the results obtained from a study of 14 patients with symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting which had continued for considerable periods of time and which, despite extensive investigation, eluded diagnosis. The study sought to examine the characteristics of patients who continue to suffer these symptoms and to identify their social and psychological effects. It was found that this symptom complex disrupted roles and activities in a manner out of proportion with clinical seriousness. Results from this preliminary investigation seem to point in the direction of two distinguishable groups of patients in whom the emergence and prognosis of symptoms are different. In one group, symptoms appear to be precipitated and exacerbated by problems within the environment and which disappear when such problems are ameliorated; in the other group symptoms appear as part of a long-term psychiatric illness. Implications for management are discussed.