The behavioral management of chronic pain: long-term follow-up with comparison groups.

To assess the long-term efficacy of an operant inpatient treatment program for severely disabled chronic pain patients, 26 treated patients were compared with 20 rejected for treatment by a clinic team and 12 who refused treatment. At follow-up ranging from 1 to 8 years, 77% of treated participants were leading normal lives without medication for pain compared to one patient in the other two groups. At time of evaluation, unsuccessfully treated patients used more medications and were higher on MMPI measures of paranoia and lower on ego-strength than successfully treated patients. Spouses of unsuccessfully treated patients had higher MMPI scores on hypochondriasis and hysteria than spouses of successfully treated patients.