Occurrence of Painless Acute Surgical Disorders in Psychotic Patients

Abstract

THE lack of complaint of pain by psychotic patients when afflicted by painful disorders has been an observation of every physician practicing in a mental institution. Despite this the phenomenon has not been thought of as having clinical significance and worthy of comment in the medical literature. The reason for this has been the lack of information regarding the actual frequency of the phenomenon in relation to various medical or surgical disorders. To supply the necessary data about a medical disorder — namely, acute myocardial infarction — a report,¹ which soon thereafter was corroborated by Lieberman,² was published in 1955. . . .