Chronic pain clinic as a haven for difficult patients: the role of projective identification

Difficult patients - or those with difficult personalities - are frequently encountered in the treatment of chronic non-oncologic pain, overburdening the doctor-patient relationship far beyond the complexities of their illness and treatment. The present review/experiential report discusses the role that projective identification, as a psychological process of communication, puts the doctor-patient relationship in within the multi-professional chronic pain team. The concepts of projective identification are reviewed both in their benign and their malignant forms. Two clinical vignettes exemplify each of them. Some situations in the setting of doctor-patient communication are presented in which projective identification appears and complicates the therapeutic relationship. Some recommendations are offered regarding the handling of patients that communicate mainly by means of projective identification, and some ideas are offered to the multi-professional team. In our chronic pain clinic, difficult patients as a whole seem to prefer to communicate by means of a malignant form of projective identification and present with immature types of personality organizations. Within the chronic pain teams, doctor-patient relationships (as well as relations among the professionals) can be enriched if projective identification is detected early and appropriately handled. Long-term psychotherapy is the treatment that should be chosen for such patients.Pacientes difíceis - ou de personalidade difícil - são frequentemente encontrados na clínica da dor crônica não-oncológica, impondo à relação médico-paciente sobrecargas que vão além das complexidades da doença e do tratamento. Esta revisão/relato de experiência discute o papel que o processo psicológico e comunicacional da identificação projetiva exerce sobre as relações entre pacientes e médicos (e outros profissionais) nas equipes de dor crônica. São revisados os conceitos de identificação projetiva, na sua forma benigna e maligna. Duas vinhetas clínicas são dadas como exemplos de cada uma. São apresentadas situações no cenário da comunicação médico-paciente em que a identificação projetiva opera complicando a relação terapêutica. Ao final, recomendações são dadas sobre o manejo do paciente difícil que se comunica maciçamente por identificação projetiva, assim como às equipes multiprofissionais que lidam com estes pacientes. Os pacientes difíceis de nossa clínica de dor crônica têm em comum o fato de se comunicarem pela forma maligna de identificação projetiva e terem organizações imaturas de personalidade. Nas equipes de dor crônica, as relações entre pacientes e profissionais (assim como as relações entre os profissionais), podem ser otimizadas se a equipe for capaz de identificar precocemente o fenômeno da identificação projetiva e manejá-lo de forma terapêutica. Para o paciente, a psicoterapia de longo prazo é o tratamento de eleição

Chronic failure in the treatment of chronic pain? The silent influence of the personality and its disorders

Transtornos psiquiátricos são comuns entre pacientes com dor crônica não oncológica. Em uma amostra de pacientes que foram encaminhados para avaliação psiquiátrica, transtornos de personalidade foram encontrados mais frequentemente que qualquer outro diagnóstico psiquiátrico, incluindo-se depressão maior. Os transtornos de personalidade borderline e narcisista foram os mais prevalentes. O presente artigo discute tais achados à luz de uma revisão de literatura em que os termos chronic pain, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder foram adequadamente combinados como descritores. Além dos critérios diagnósticos para cada um dos transtornos, discutem-se alguns “sinais sutis” que podem orientar na identificação de traços de cada um deles, e duas vinhetas clínicas são apresentadas para ilustrar os transtornos de personalidade em discussão. Ao final, dão-se recomendações que podem facilitar o seguimento destes pacientes em equipes multiprofissionais de dor crônica.Patients with non-oncologic chronic pain conditions commonly present with psychiatric symptoms and disorders. In a sample of non-oncologic chronic pain patients referred for psychiatric consultation, personality disorders were found more frequently than any other diagnosis, including major depression. Borderline and narcissistic personality disorders were the most common psychiatric diagnoses in the group. This paper debates such findings along with a literature review carried out using the keywords chronic pain, borderline personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. Diagnostic criteria for the personality disorders are shown, as well as some “soft signs” that may indicate the disorder. Two vignettes exemplify each of the personality disorders; finally, some recommendations are offered to ease the clinical management of such patients by multi-professional teams for chronic pain patients

Frequency of symptoms in the last year of life of underprivileged elders in São Paulo: a cross-sectional study with informal caregivers

O crescimento da população idosa brasileira fez aumentar a prevalência de doenças crônicas e o número de pessoas sofrendo de diversos sintomas ao final da vida. Este estudo objetivou entrevistar cuidadores de idosos falecidos, investigando a presença, intensidade e duração de sintomas no último ano, e se os mesmos foram tratados. Arrolaram-se idosos por inquérito domiciliar de base populacional em setores de baixa renda do Butantã, São Paulo. Eram elegíveis os idosos falecidos durante o período de dois anos de seguimento. Oitenta e um cuidadores foram entrevistados entre três e 16 meses pós-óbito e responderam um questionário sobre onze sintomas. Os sintomas mais referidos foram dor (78%), fadiga (68%), dispnéia (60%), depressão e anorexia (58% cada). Dor, dispnéia e fadiga foram os mais intensos. Dor, fadiga e depressão duraram 6 meses ou mais. Ficaram sem tratamento 79% dos idosos com depressão, 77% daqueles com incontinência urinária e 67% daqueles com ansiedade. É necessário implementar conceitos e ações de cuidados paliativos para dar aos idosos mais dignidade e qualidade ao final da vida.The Brazilian population of elders is growing, resulting in high prevalences of chronic diseases and people facing distressing symptoms in their last years. This study aimed at interviewing family caregivers of deceased elders to investigate the presence, severity and duration of common symptoms in the last year, as well as whether the symptoms were managed or not. Elders were enrolled in a population-based study in deprived areas of Butantã, São Paulo. After a two-year follow-up, any death was eligible for the study. Eighty-one caregivers were interviewed between three and sixteen months after elder's death and answered a questionnaire on eleven symptoms. The most commonly reported symptoms were pain (78%), fatigue (68%), dyspnea (60%), depression, and anorexia (58% each). Pain, dyspnea and fatigue were the most severe. Pain, fatigue and depression lasted 6 months or more. No treatment was received for depression (79%), urinary incontinence (77%) and anxiety (67%). The implementation of palliative care concepts and actions is mandatory to provide Brazilian elders with dignity and better quality at the end of life.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Frequency of symptoms in the last year of life of elders: a palliative care needs assessment

Este estudo objetivou entrevistar cuidadores de idosos falecidos, inventariando a presença, a gravidade e a duração de sintomas comuns no último ano de vida do idoso, e verificando a possibilidade de o idoso ter recebido tratamento paliativo para tais sintomas. Idosos foram arrolados por meio de inquérito domiciliar de base populacional no Butantã (São Paulo); idosos falecidos durante o período de seguimento (2 anos) eram elegíveis, desde que os cuidadores dos idosos fossem entrevistados entre três e 16 meses após o óbito; utilizou-se questionário sobre dor, ansiedade, depressão, choro, insônia, dispneia, astenia, anorexia, náuseas, obstipação, diarreia, incontinência urinária e fecal, e úlceras de pressão. Foram entrevistados 81 cuidadores; a idade média do idoso ao falecer foi 78 anos; as causas de óbito mais frequentes foram neoplasia, pneumonia, acidente vascular cerebral e insuficiência cardíaca congestiva; os sintomas mais frequentes no último ano de vida foram dor (78%), fadiga (68%), dispneia (60%), depressão e anorexia (58% cada); dor, dispneia e fadiga foram os mais intensos; dor, fadiga e depressão duraram 6 meses ou mais; na última semana de vida, os mais frequentes foram fadiga, incontinência urinária, anorexia, dispneia e dor; ficaram sem tratamento 79% dos idosos com depressão, 77% dos idosos com incontinência urinária e 67% dos idosos com ansiedade. É necessário melhor aplicar os conceitos e ações de cuidados paliativos para dar aos idosos brasileiros mais dignidade e qualidade ao final da vida.The present study aimed at interviewing family caregivers of deceased elders to investigate the presence, severity and duration of common symptoms, as well as whether they were managed during the last year of life. Elders were enrolled to a population-based study in Butantã (western São Paulo); after a two-year follow-up assessment, any death was eligible for the present study since the carers were interviewed between three and sixteen months after the death of the elder, and responded to a questionnaire on: pain, anxiety, depression, easycrying, insomnia, dyspnea, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, urinary and fecal incontinence, and pressure sores. Eighty-one carers were interviewed; mean age was 78 among the deceased elders; the most frequent causes of death were cancer, pneumonia, stroke and heart disease; the most frequent symptoms at the last year were pain (78%), fatigue (68%), dyspnea (60%), depression and anorexia (58% each); pain, dyspnea and fatigue were the most severe; pain, fatigue and depression lasted 6 months or more; the most frequent in the last week of life were fatigue, urinary incontinence, anorexia, dyspnea and pain; no treatment was received for depression, urinary incontinence and anxiety (respectively, 79%, 77% and 67% of the elders with the symptom). It is mandatory to implement the concepts and actions of palliative care to provide Brazilian elders with dignity and better quality at the end of life

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of resilience scales for Brazil: dispositional resilience scale and Connor-Davidson resilience scale

INTRODUÇÃO: a resiliência é um construto associado às características pessoais que permitem a um indivíduo adaptar-se e superar situações adversas. Uma pessoa mais resiliente é aquela com maiores habilidades de se adaptar sob estresse, a despeito da carga de dificuldades enfrentada e de um contexto desfavorável no entorno. A Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS-15) e a Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) tentam aferir a resiliência individual e já tiveram suas propriedades testadas em vários países da América do Norte, África, Europa e Ásia. OBJETIVO: traduzir, realizar a adaptação para o contexto cultural brasileiro e verificar a confiabilidade e a validade das escalas DRS-15 e CD-RISC. MÉTODO: uma metodologia com as etapas seqüenciais de tradução/retro-tradução/adaptação cultural/estudo de confiabilidade/estudo de validade foi utilizada. A adaptação cultural foi executada por um grupo de especialistas em epidemiologia, linguística, psiquiatria e tratamento da dor. A compreensão das versões culturalmente adaptadas foi testada com 65 pacientes adultos do grupo de avaliação pré-anestésica e do ambulatório geral de ansiedade do Hospital das Clínicas da FMUSP. Retro-traduções das versões finais foram aprovadas pelos autores principais das escalas originais. O estudo de validade foi conduzido pela aplicação conjunta de ambas as versões brasileiras das escalas, do Inventário de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos de Lipp (ISSL), do Self-report questionnaire (SRQ), da escala de incapacitação de Sheehan (SDS) e da Escala Graduada de Dor Crônica (CPG-Br) a 575 pacientes e acompanhantes adultos da mesma população. A confiabilidade teste-reteste foi avaliada por uma segunda aplicação das escalas de resiliência a 123 participantes, entre 7 e 14 dias após a entrevista inicial. RESULTADOS: entre os participantes da fase de validação, a idade média foi de 44 anos (amplitude de 18-93), com predomínio de mulheres (74%), e média de dez anos de estudo. A maioria dos entrevistados (93%) pertencia aos estratos socioeconômicos B e C. Três fatores e quatro fatores foram identificados por análise fatorial exploratória para as versões da DRS-15 e CD-RISC, respectivamente. O coeficiente alfa de Cronbach foi de 0,71 para a DRS, e de 0,93 para a CD-RISC, indicando melhor consistência interna para a segunda. A confiabilidade teste-reteste retornou coeficientes de correlação intra-classe de 0,81 e 0,86 para a DRS e CD-RISC, respectivamente. A correlação entre as duas escalas foi de 0,52. Observaram-se correlações negativas significativas entre os escores das escalas de resiliência e os escores para cinco das seis dimensões do ISSL, assim como para com os escores do SRQ e SDS (p < 0,001). Não houve correlação entre as escalas de resiliência e a CPG-Br. A CD-RISC encontrou correlações mais fortes que a DRS para com as variáveis de comparação externa. As duas escalas discriminaram resiliência menor para os pacientes dos ambulatórios psiquiátricos, em comparação aos dos ambulatórios não-psiquiátricos. Entre os pacientes psiquiátricos, os escores de resiliência foram significativamente menores para os pacientes com transtorno Borderline de personalidade, em comparação aos pacientes com transtorno de estresse pós-traumático. CONCLUSÃO: propriedades de consistência interna, estabilidade temporal e validade foram satisfatoriamente demonstradas para as versões brasileiras da DRS e da CD-RISC em uma amostra de pacientes e acompanhantes adultos dos ambulatórios do Hospital das Clínicas de São PauloINTRODUCTION: Resilience is a construct related to the personal characteristics that allow an individual to adapt and overcome adversity. A more resilient person is the one that exhibits greater abilities to adapt under stress, despite the burden of difficulties and of an unfavorable context. The Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS-15) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) are two scales to measure individual resilience, both of which have had psychometrics evaluated by researchers from the US, Africa, Europe and Asia. OBJECTIVE: To verify the reliability and validity of culturally adapted Brazilian Portuguese versions of the DRS-15 and CD-RISC. METHODS: The following stepwise methodology was used: translation / back translation / cultural adaptation / reliability study / validation study. Cultural adaptation was performed by an expert committee of epidemiologist, linguists, psychiatrist and pain specialists. Comprehension of the culturally adapted versions was tested through 65 interviews with adult patients from the pre-anesthetic consultation ambulatory and general ambulatory for anxiety disorders of Hospital das Clínicas of FMUSP. Back-translations of the culturally adapted versions were fully approved by the authors of the original scales. Validation studies were carried out by concurrent application of both the adapted versions of resilience scales, the Brazilian Stress Symptoms Inventory for Adults (ISSL), the Self-report Questionnaire (SRQ), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) and the Chronic Pain Grade (CPG-Br) to 575 participants (outpatients and companions) from the same population. Test-retest reliability was studied by means of a second interview with 123 subjects, which took place between 7 and 14 days after the first one. RESULTS: Subjects of the validation phase were mostly women (74%), with an average of 44 years of age (18-93) and 10 years of formal schooling. There was a predominance of socioeconomic levels B or C (93%) on an A to E scale. Exploratory factor analyses resulted in a three-factor for the DRS and a four-factor solution for the CD-RISC. Alpha coefficients of 0.71 for the DRS and 0.93 for the CD-RISC indicated better internal consistency for the latter. Temporal stability was regarded as excellent, with intra-class correlation coefficients of 0.81 and 0.86 for the DRS and CD-RISC, respectively. Correlation coefficient between the two scales was 0.52. Significant negative correlations were observed between the scores of both resilience scales and five out of six dimensions of the ISSL, and so as between the resilience scales scores and those of the SRQ and SDS (p < 0.001). No correlation was observed between the resilience scales and the CPG-Br. The CD-RISC was more competent than DRS to depict such correlations. Both scales were able to discriminate differences in resilience scores of non-psychiatric and psychiatric patients, the latter presenting with lower scores. The group of borderline patients significantly presented with lower resilience scores in comparison with those of the post-traumatic stress disorder patients. CONCLUSION: Good reliability and validity were demonstrated with the Brazilian Portuguese versions of the DRS and CD-RISC as tested on a sample of adult ambulatory patients and their adult companions at Hospital das Clínicas, São Paul

Grief on the agenda of multiprofessional oncology and palliative care teams: a family assistance program at the Federal University of São Paulo

Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-30T11:59:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) 18.pdf: 410554 bytes, checksum: 276aac161a2be5c7e6b5c575f93c1462 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Projeto de Proteção ao Luto, Departamento de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Projeto de Proteção ao Luto, Departamento de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Projeto de Proteção ao Luto, Departamento de Medicina, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Nos últimos anos tem sido chamada a atenção para o fato de que o conceito de cuidados paliativos deve ser ampliado e de que as reações de luto dos familiares dos pacientes sejam incluídas como foco de atenção por equipes multiprofissionais. Nos hospitais, o luto afeta o paciente que recebe a notícia de ter um prognóstico reservado, mas também afeta seus familiares e as equipes técnicas que do paciente se acercam. Pelo seu potencial de complicar-se e causar prejuízos físicos, psíquicos e comunitários, o luto já foi referido como um problema de saúde pública, capaz de onerar as redes assistenciais de forma silenciosa. O presente trabalho tem por objetivos localizar o problema do luto nas equipes hospitalares de cuidados paliativos e de oncologia, e apresentar um programa de assistência grupal a familiares enlutados que tem contribuído para a melhoria da qualidade da comunicação e veiculação de informações em um hospital-escola de São Paulo.Over recent years attention has been paid to the need to broaden the concept of palliative care and to include the grief reactions of patients’ family members as a focus of multiprofessional teams. In hospitals, grief affects not just the patient who receives the news of a reserved prognosis, but also the patient’s family and the technical teams who come into contact with the patient. Due to its potential to become complicated and cause physical, psychological and community problems, grief has already been identified as a public health problem, capable of silently placing a burden on care networks. This article aims to locate the problem of grief in hospital palliative care and oncology teams and give an overview of a group assistance program for grieving family members which has contributed to an improvement in the quality of communication and the dissemination of information in a teaching hospital in São Paulo

Resilience and hope during advanced disease: a pilot study with metastatic colorectal cancer patients

Abstract Background The balance between hope-hopelessness plays an important role in the way terminally ill patients report quality of life, and personal resilience may be related to hope at the end of life. The objective of this study was to explore associations between personal resilience, hope, and other possible predictors of hope in advanced cancer patients. Methods A cross-sectional pilot study was carried out with metastatic colorectal cancer patients in a tertiary hospital. The patients answered the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Herth Hope Index, Barthel Index, an instrument addressing family and social support, visual-numeric scales for pain and suffering, a two-item screening for depression, socio-demographic and socio-economic information about the family. Results Forty-four patients were interviewed (mean age 56 years; range 29-86). A strong correlation was noted between resilience and hope (0.63; p < 0.05). No correlation was found between hope and independence for activities of daily living, support from family and community, and pain and suffering levels. Of the 44 patients, 20 presented with depressive symptoms. These depressive patients had lower resilience (p = 0.005) and hope (p = 0.003), and higher scores of suffering (p < 0.001). The association between resilience and hope kept stable after adjusting for age, gender, and presence of depression (p < 0.001). Conclusion Given that resilience is a dynamic, changeable path that can improve hope, resilience-fostering interventions should be most valued in palliative care settings and should be commenced as soon as possible with cancer patients. Patients with advanced stages of non-malignant conditions would also probably benefit from such interventions

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Dispositional Resilience Scale among Brazilian adult patients

ABSTRACT Objective Verifying the psychometrics of a Brazilian version of the Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS-15). Methods Cross-cultural adaptation was done interviewing 65 adult patients. Validation was evaluated by application of the Lipp Brazilian Stress Symptoms Inventory (ISSL), Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ), and other measures to 575 participants from the psychiatric ambulatories (for borderline personality, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorders) and non-psychiatric ambulatories (chronic pain, pre-anesthetic consultation and companions for the latter). Temporal stability was verified with 123 participants. Results Exploratory factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution. Psychometrics were acceptable (alpha coefficient, 0.71; intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.81). Correlations with the ISSL, SRQ and other measures were noted except for factor 3. In the psychiatric sample, hardiness scores of borderline patients were lower than those of patients with anxiety disorders. Conclusion This version of the DRS-15 exhibited good reliability in a sample of Brazilian patients; validity was confirmed in two of the scale factors