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Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of pain symptoms reported by patients of non-psychiatric hospital departments and to explore their association with affective and anxiety disorders., Methods: Patients of non-psychiatric hospital departments (n = 290) reported pain symptoms by filling in a self-rating questionnaire. Psychiatric examinations were performed by psychiatrists using a structured diagnostic interview. The sum-scores of self-reported pain symptoms were tested for their screening accuracy for anxiety and depression., Results: Patients suffering from affective or anxiety disorders reported significantly more often three or more pain symptoms (63 % vs. 28 %). Using a cut-off value of ≥ 3 of self-reported pain symptoms yielded a sensitivity of 63.1 % and a specificity of 71.7 %., Conclusions: These findings highlight the relevance of a higher number of pain symptoms as a possible indicator for affective and anxiety disorders. The use of pain symptoms as pre-screening for depression and anxiety might be a useful tool, but needs further research before it can be recommended., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Introduction: Over the past 25 years, several studies have shown the efficacy of a number of psychological interventions for severe personality disorders. However, the generalizability of these positive results from long traditional research settings to more ordinary ones has been questioned, requiring a need for replication in pragmatic studies., Methods: This pragmatic study compares hospitalizations and Emergency Room visits before and during a 6-month therapeutic program for severe personality disorders, and at 36 months after starting it. The therapeutic program, which integrates several specific interventions within a coherent framework, was carried out in an ordinary clinical setting. Fifty-one patients, evaluated according DSM-IV criteria by using the Spanish version of the Structured Clinical Interview for Personality Disorders (SCID-II), were included., Results: The clinical characteristics showed a group of severely disturbed patients, of which 78.4% met criteria for borderline personality disorder. The percentage of patients hospitalized and visiting the Emergency Room, as well as the number of days of hospitalization and Emergency Room visits was significantly reduced during the treatment, and this improvement was maintained throughout., Conclusions: An integrated treatment for severe personality disorders could be effective in preventing reliance on readmissions, or prolonged hospital stays, when it is implemented by clinicians in ordinary clinical settings., (Copyright © 2014 SEP y SEPB. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)