ArticlePhilosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM2013
At the borders of medical reasoning: aetiological and ontological challenges of medically unexplained symptoms.
Article in Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mobile apps to self-manage chronic low back pain: A realist synthesis exploring what works, for whom and in what circumstances.PEC innovation · 2023Article
- Exploring the potential of a standardized test in physiotherapy: making emotion, embodiment, and therapeutic alliance count for women with chronic pelvic pain.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Experiences of Living with Severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
- Novel primary care treatment package for patients with medically unexplained symptoms: a cohort intervention study.BJGP open · 2018Article
- "You kind of want to fix it don't you?" Exploring general practice trainees' experiences of managing patients with medically unexplained symptoms.BMC medical education · 2016Article
- On the classification of diseases.Theoretical medicine and bioethics · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) remain recalcitrant to the medical profession, proving less suitable for homogenic treatment with respect to their aetiology, taxonomy and diagnosis. While the majority of existing medical research methods are designed for large scale population data and sufficiently homogenous groups, MUS are characterised by their heterogenic and complex nature. As a result, MUS seem to resist medical scrutiny in a way that other conditions do not. This paper approaches the problem of MUS from a philosophical point of view. The aim is to first consider the epistemological problem of MUS in a wider ontological and phenomenological context, particularly in relation to causation. Second, the paper links current medical practice to certain ontological assumptions. Finally, the outlines of an alternative ontology of causation are offered which place characteristic features of MUS, such as genuine complexity, context-sensitivity, holism and medical uniqueness at the centre of any causal set-up, and not only for MUS. This alternative ontology provides a framework in which to better understand complex medical conditions in relation to both their nature and their associated research activity.
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Registered trials
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