ArticleBMJ open2012
A primary care Symptoms Clinic for patients with medically unexplained symptoms: pilot randomised trial.
Article in BMJ open, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02444520 (Persistent Physical Symptoms Reduction Intervention), which is not on this map. Cited by 22 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Persistent Physical Symptoms Reduction Intervention: a Systems Change and Evaluation (PRINCE) - Integrated GP Care for Persistent Physical Symptoms: a Feasibility & Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- What psychological interventions are effective for the management of persistent physical symptoms (PPS)? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of health psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Behavioural modification interventions for medically unexplained symptoms in primary care: systematic reviews and economic evaluation.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Non-pharmacological interventions for somatoform disorders and medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Enhanced care by generalists for functional somatic symptoms and disorders in primary care.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- BMC family practice integrated GP care for patients with persistent physical symptoms: feasibility cluster randomised trial.BMC family practice · 2020Trial
- Open Trial of Integrated Primary Care Consultation for Medically Unexplained Symptoms.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2017Trial
- Feasibility of Videoconference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Somatic Symptom Disorder: Single-Arm Pilot Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Moving Integrated Care for Pediatric Somatic Symptoms into Primary Care: An Innovative Approach.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2026Review
- Explanation for symptoms and biographical repair in a clinic for persistent physical symptoms.SSM. Qualitative research in health · 2024Article
- Article
- Patients' descriptions of the relation between physical symptoms and negative emotions: a qualitative analysis of primary care consultations.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Article
- Article
- Developing a Clinical Pathway for Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders in Pediatric Hospital Settings.Hospital pediatrics · 2019Article
- Novel primary care treatment package for patients with medically unexplained symptoms: a cohort intervention study.BJGP open · 2018Article
- Different Strokes for Different Folks: The BodyMind Approach as a Learning Tool for Patients With Medically Unexplained Symptoms to Self-Manage.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
- Pediatric Somatic Symptom Disorders.Current psychiatry reports · 2017Review
- CONSORT 2010 statement: extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2016Article
- The relation between the patient health questionnaire-15 and DSM somatic diagnoses.BMC psychiatry · 2016Article
- CONSORT 2010 statement: extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2016 · on this mapArticle
- Standardization of a screening instrument (PHQ-15) for somatization syndromes in the general population.BMC psychiatry · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo conduct a pilot trial of a primary care Symptoms Clinic for patients with medically unexplained symptoms and evaluate recruitment and retention, and acceptability of the intervention and to estimate potential treatment effects for a full trial. TRIAL
designRandomised parallel group pilot trial.
settingPrimary care in one locality.
participantsPrimary care database and postal questionnaire were used to identify patients with multiple specialist referrals and multiple physical symptoms unlikely to be explained by disease.
interventionsGeneral practitioner (GP) with special interest 'Symptoms Clinic' + usual care versus usual care alone. The Symptoms Clinic comprised one long (1 h) and three short (20 min) appointments. OUTCOMES: Number of patients identified and recruited; acceptability of the intervention (items from Client Satisfaction Questionnaire and interview); Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form 12 (SF-12) physical component summary. RANDOMISATION: Automated blocked randomisation accessed by telephone. BLINDING: None. NUMBERS RANDOMIZED: 16 to intervention and 16 to usual care alone. RECRUITMENT: 72 patients, from seven GP practices, had repeated specialist referrals and a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-15 score of ≥10 indicating a high probability of medically unexplained symptoms. 15 were ineligible and 25 declined to participate. NUMBERS ANALYSED: 26 patients; two patients randomised to the intervention group were incorrectly included, three patients in the intervention group and one control did not complete outcome measures. OUTCOME: Most patients randomised to the Symptoms Clinic found the intervention acceptable: eight out of 11 reported the intervention helped them to deal with their problems. The mean difference between groups in SF-12 physical component summary, adjusted for baseline, was 3.8 points (SD 6). HARMS: No observed harms.
conclusionsPatients with multiple medically unexplained symptoms can be systematically identified in primary care; a randomised trial comparing the Symptoms Clinic with usual care is feasible and has the potential to show clinically meaningful benefit.
trial registrationISRCTN63083469.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.