A Comparison of Personality Characteristics in Trigeminal Neuralgia and Atypical Facial Pain Using

PURPOSE: Trigeminal neuralgia and atypical facial pain are representative disease entities of chronic facial pain. Most patients of these disaeses could be accompanied with psychological, emotional problems as their pain become chronic. These diseases actually have many differences in pathophysiology, symptom, treatment, and prognosis each other. Atypical facial pain shows a tendency to coexist particular characteristics of personality disorders. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether different types of chronic facial pain lead to alteration in personality disorder or they are associated with particular characteristics of personality disorders using Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 40 patients of trigeminal neuralgia and 21 patients of atypical facial pain who had responded MMPI were enrolled in this study. Two groups were compared for age, sex, pain intensity (Visual analogue scale, VAS), duration of pain, MMPI scores and psychological impression from MMPI results. The relationship between MMPI scores and pain intensity as well as duration of pain in each group were analysed. RESULT: Pain intensity and chronicity were more severe and longer in trigeminal neuralgia group than atypical facial pain. However, some MMPI profiles such as hypochondriasis and hysteria were significantly elevated in atypical facial pain. Pain intensity and duration did not correlate with MMPI profiles in each group. Meaningful psychological impression from MMPI results which were interpreted by one psychologist were shown in 13 patients of trigeminal neuralgia (32.5%) and 14 patients of atypical facial pain (66.7%). Especially, psychosomatic disorder was most frequently impressed in atypical facial pain patients (47.6%). CONCLUSION: Atypical facial pain patients have psychologic and emotional problems more frequently than trigeminal neuralgia patients independent of pain intensity and chronicity. It suggests that careful consideration about possible existence of personality disturbances in the atypical facial pain patients is needed, and it would be helpful to consider psychologic consultation and treatment as well as pain control.

Author dc:creator

• 조, 한범

Contributors dc:contributor

• 한, 경림
• 대학원 의학과
• 104247

• 만성 통증
• 삼차신경통
• 비정형 안면통
• MMPI
• 정신과적 평가

Language dc:language

ko

Identifier

http://dcoll.ajou.ac.kr:9080/dcollection/jsp/common/DcLoOrgPer.jsp?sItemId=000000000764
000000000764

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.ajou.ac.kr:201003/1507