However, it is not possible to say whether the cause of the complaints is psychological or biological ( 5). By definition, NFS does not have a clear organic cause. Patients with NFS are common in general practice ( 5, 6). Accordingly, NFS can be considered when the following three criteria are met: (a) the complaints cannot be attributed to a specific disease (b) the function of the affected organ or organ system is impaired (c) the complaints significantly affect daily life ( 5). ![]() This term combines the terms “non-specific,” “functional” and “somatoform” and refers to disorders or diseases with physical symptoms or complaints for which no organic cause is found ( 7, 8). The triple term “non-specific, functional and somatoform (NFS) bodily complaints” is primarily used to describe a group of disorders or diseases for which no clear organic cause can be identified and which are due to a dysfunction or interaction between different organs or systems of the body ( 5, 6). This variety of common symptoms suggests that patients with a simple acute infection could have a high symptom overlap with non-specific, functional, and somatoform (NFS) bodily complaint, which includes pain in various locations, impaired different organ functions (gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, urogenital) with autonomic complaints, as well as exhaustion/fatigue ( 5). ![]() These symptoms mainly related to the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal system and the urinary tract ( 4). In a prospective online cohort study of the general population in England ( 4), 873 participants with infections reported a total of more than 40,590 symptoms, with 79% of participants reporting at least one symptom. The somatic symptoms of simple acute infections vary widely. According to Grobe, Steinmann and Szecseny ( 3), ~30% of German citizens in primary care were diagnosed with acute respiratory system infection in 2017. For example, simple acute infection is one of the most frequently encountered conditions in primary medical care ( 1, 2). In many cases, somatic symptoms are related to somatic diseases and/or mental disorders. Somatic symptoms are the most common reason for patients to seek medical care. Its total score and corresponding cutoff value provide a more specific and thus less susceptible screening tool for identifying SSD in primary care. The patients in the SSG showed higher total SSS-8 and SSD-12 scores than the patients in the AIG however, the SSS-8 was more susceptible to changes triggered by symptoms of a simple acute infection than the SSD-12.Ĭonclusion: These results suggest that the SSD-12 is less susceptible to symptoms of a simple acute infection. Results: A total of 140 patients with a simple acute infection (acute infection group, AIG) and 219 patients with chronic somatic symptoms (somatic symptom group, SSG) were included. Methods: In our cross-sectional, multicenter design, a total of 1,000 patients in primary care practices were screened using the two most established SSD screening questionnaires, the 8-item Somatic Symptom Scale (SSS-8) and the 12-item Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12), followed by clinical assessment by the primary care physician. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how symptoms of simple acute infections affect the two established questionnaires as screening instruments for somatic symptom disorder in the primary care setting. Although screening instruments are frequently used, it is currently unclear to what extent they are influenced by the concurrent presence of simple acute infections. Questionnaire-based screening instruments to identify patients at high risk of SSD are thus of great clinical relevance. Objective: Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is one of the most common reasons for consultations in primary care, in addition to simple acute infections. 2Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. ![]() 1Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. ![]() Ying Zhang 1 David Baumeister 1 Mona Spanidis 1 Felicitas Engel 1 Sabrina Berens 1 † Annika Gauss 2 Wolfgang Eich 1 Jonas Tesarz 1 *
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