Pain insensitivity in schizophrenic patients. A surgical dilemma
L. K. Bickerstaff, S. C. Harris, R. S. Leggett and K. C. Cheah
Department of Surgery, American Lake Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash.
Some schizophrenic patients have decreased pain perception while others
have decreased pain expression. These factors frequently lead to
difficulties in the diagnosis of acute intra-abdominal surgical
emergencies. Increasingly large numbers of schizophrenic patients are being
cared for in the community. It is therefore imperative that surgeons be
acutely aware of the diagnostic dilemmas presented by this group of
patients so that misdiagnosis is avoided and appropriate surgical therapy
is instituted in a timely manner.
