Abstract
BackgroundThe change in the benzodiazepine (BZD) use of patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) following the application of relaxation therapy were examined.MethodsOf the 221 outpatients with MUS using BZD, 42 received relaxation therapy. Change in BZD use was compared using a relaxation group (n = 42) and a control group that had 84 MUS patients whose baseline was matched by optimal matching algorithms. Logistic regression analysis was done to evaluate the effect of BZD-dependent factors on the BZD dose of the relaxation group.ResultsCompared with the control group, the number of patients who decreased the amount of BZD and the number of patients whose subjective symptoms of MUS improved were significantly higher in the relaxation group (p < 0.05). In addition, a factor that made it difficult to reduce the BZD of MUS patients who had undergone relaxation was a long history of BZD use, for more than 6 months (odds ratio, 0.06, 95% confidence interval, 0.01–0.36).ConclusionsRelaxation therapy for patients with MUS may help reduce BZD use; however, early intervention is important to prevent BZD dependence.
Highlights
Unexplained symptoms (MUS) comprise a clinical spectrum, and often cause mental and physical impairment
We evaluated the change in BZD use of patients with relaxation therapy and assessed the mechanism of these changes by examining BZDdependent factors associated with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS)
Multiple relaxation therapy modalities were used in 36 cases (85.7%)
Summary
Unexplained symptoms (MUS) comprise a clinical spectrum, and often cause mental and physical impairment. We reported various clinical symptoms of MUS [2] that complicate its treatment. Combined use of pharmacological treatment with non-pharmacological therapies, such as psychotherapy, Hashimoto et al BioPsychoSocial Medicine (2020) 14:13 effective when combined with other treatment modalities [11, 12]. In our own department, AT, BF, and PMR have been used alone or in combination as a module for cognitive-behavioral therapy. We previously reported that the combination of BF and PMR demonstrated superior effectiveness in the treatment of migraine [13]. The change in the benzodiazepine (BZD) use of patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) following the application of relaxation therapy were examined
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