CASE Vague symptoms; no clear etiology
Mr. W, age 53, presents to the emergency department (ED) describing acute mid-sternal chest pain (severity: 8 out of 10). His medical history is significant for pulmonary embolism and ascending aortic aneurysm in the context of Takayasu’s arteritis, an inflammatory condition of the large arterial blood vessels characterized by lesions that can lead to vascular stenosis, occlusion, or aneurysm. Takayasu’s arteritis is also known as pulseless disease due to the weak or absent pulses the condition produces.
A review of Mr. W’s medical records reveals that this is his 23rd visit to this hospital within a year; the year before that, he had 22 visits. At each of these previous visits, he had similar vague symptoms, including dizziness, chest pain, lightheadedness, fainting, bilateral knee weakness, and left-arm numbness/weakness, and no clear acute etiology for his reported symptoms. Each time, after the treating clinicians ruled out possible acute complications of a flare-up of Takayasu’s arteritis through a physical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging studies, Mr. W was discharged with recommendations that he follow-up with his primary care physician and specialists. At each discharge, he would leave the hospital with hesitation.
At this present visit, the ED physician recognizes Mr. W as someone who visits the ED often with no profound acute issues, and reviews the substantial medical records available to the hospital. He suspects Mr. W is feigning symptoms, and orders a psychiatric consultation.
EVALUATION Psychiatric interview and mental status exam
On examination, Mr. W is not in acute distress. Despite reporting an 8 out of 10 for chest pain severity, he displays no psychomotor agitation, and his pulse rate and blood pressure are within normal limits. He makes appropriate eye contact and describes his mood as “great.” He reports no problems with sleep, appetite, or disinterest in pleasurable activities, and denies being depressed or having any symptoms consistent with a mood disorder, anxiety disorder, or psychosis. He denies a history of panic attacks or excessive worrying that interferes with his sleep or activities of daily living. Additionally, Mr. W describes a stable, peaceful, and stress-free life within the limitations of his Takayasu’s arteritis, which he has been managing well since his diagnosis 6 years earlier.
Mr. W denies having any psychiatric symptoms, apprehensive feelings, or beliefs/fears that would be considered delusional, and he has no previous legal issues aside from an occasional driving citation. During the assessment, his affect remains broad and he denies having thoughts of suicide or homicide, or auditory or visual hallucinations.
Mr. W’s drug screen results are negative, and he denies using any illicit drugs. He uses only the medications that are prescribed by his clinicians. Overall, he seems to be a well-functioning individual. Mr. W reports that work is generally not stressful.
When the psychiatric team asks him about his frequent hospitalizations and ED visits, Mr. W is insistent that he is “just doing what my doctors said for me to do.” He repeats that he does not have any mental illness and did not see the point of seeing a psychiatrist.
In pursuit of collateral information, the psychiatry team accesses a regional medical record database that allows registered medical institutions and practices to track patients’ medical encounters within the region. According to this database, within approximately 5.5 years, Mr. W had 163 clinical encounters (ED visits and inpatient admissions) and 376 radiological studies in our region (Table 1 and Table 2).
Continue to: The authors' observations