MBHI hos patienter med kroniske rygsmerter

Abstract

Twenty-six patients with chronic non-malignant low-back pain syndrome completed the MBHI (Millon Behavioral Health Inventory) before and after an intensive outpatient treatment program of 6 weeks' duration carried out by a psychologist, a physiotherapist, and a nurse at the Pain Clinic in Herlev, Copenhagen. Patients were contacted by telephone at half-year follow-up to evaluate any changes in the use of analgetics and the intensity of the pain. Compared with a group of patients with acute pain, the chronic pain patients were more sensitive, less confident, and less sociable. Scale PP, measuring possible psychologic factors affecting the chronicity of the pain syndrome, had a high positive predictive power (0.83) for outcome of the psychologically oriented treatment. The negative predictive power was low (0.50), no better than by chance selection. Patients doing better after treatment were better on the following scales: chronic tension, premorbid pessimism, somatic anxiety, and sociability. MBHI may be a useful additional instrument to predict who will benefit from more non-medically and psychotherapeutically oriented treatment programs in pain clinics. © 1991 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.