MMPI Results in Painful Patients

Seo, Myoung Sin; Han, Kyung Ream; Kim, Chan; Cho, Sun Mi; Oh, Ka Hye

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain associated with significant physical and psychosocial dysfunction poses a difficult, often refractory problem. In such cases, a psychological evaluation can provide useful information for identifying the psychological and behavioral factors that may contribute to an individual's pain and disability, as well as provide information essential to the planning and implementation of a successful treatment. The MMPI is commonly used in for assessing the personality characteristics of chronic pain patients. The MMPI can be used to corroborate the clinical impressions and to generate hypotheses regarding a patient's personality and the psychological factors involved in a patient's pain problem. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the MMPI and patients who are hospitalized in the pain clinic.
METHODS
44 patients were enrolled in this study. The patients comprised of those with herniated nucleus pulposus (13 cases), atypical facial pain (6 cases), peripheral vascular disease (4 cases), trigeminal neuralgia (4 cases), complex regional pain syndrome (4 cases), herpes zoster (4 cases), postherpetic neuralgia (3 cases), hyperhidrosis (3 cases), autonomic dysfunction (2 cases), compression fracture (1 cases), headache (1 cases), failed back surgery syndrome (2 cases) responded to MMPI.
RESULTS
This study demonstrated the diagnostic impression in 83% of atypical facial pain patient's, 75% of herpes zoster patient's, all autonomic dysfunction patient's, all compression fracture patient's, and all failed back surgery syndrome patient's. The sum of clinical scales >70 was used as a general pathology index. The pathological status appears in 67% of atypical facial pain patient's and 50% of failed back surgery syndrome patient's.
CONCLUSIONS
MMPI are helpful in assessing the personality traits and is useful in treatment planning.