Personality, coping and atypical facial pain. Case reports

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Idiopathic facial pain is a chronic condition with unknown etiology and pathophysiology. Its diagnostic criteria depend on the exclusion of any somatic cause of orofacial pain. Several studies have investigated anxiety and depression, but there is a lack of publications about personality. The objective of this study was to describe three cases of patients with idiopathic facial pain that had their temperament and character evaluated in order to verify the relation between the findings with pain behavior and pain characteristics. The instruments used were a free interview and the Temperament and Character Inventory. CASE REPORTS: Case 1 was proactive and had high scores of cooperativity and self-transcendence correspondent to the well--coping behavior. On the other side, cases 2 and 3 showed similarities about their harm avoidance, novelty seeking and poor coping, correspondent to a self-protective insecure personality. CONCLUSION: These cases show the importance of personality assessment in order to determine coping strategies in complex chronic facial pain such as idiopathic facial pain. Keywords: Atypical facial pain, Persistent pain, Personality. Personality, coping and atypical facial pain. Case reports

Factors influencing nurses’ pain assessment and management of road traffic casualties: a qualitative study at a military hospital in Ghana

“…Although facial pain assessment has been established to have clinical value, especially for non-verbal communicating patients [ 27 ], its reliability may be limited by differences in individual facial features such as the shape of the face and hair distribution on the face and scalp. The individual variations in appearance may lead to significant outcomes for facial assessment [ 31 ]. This challenges nurses to have adequate knowledge about the various distinctions in facial expression to rely on as a pain assessment tool.…”

Persistent idiopathic facial pain associated with borderline personality disorder: a case report

“…7 Pain is a sensory and emotional experience that may become chronic after six months, leading to loss of function and severe disability. 3 PIFP is probably the most challenging type of facial pain for clinical management. A multidisciplinary team approach helps identify social, environmental, and intrapsychic factors influencing patient evolution.…”

“…Another study assessing the personality profile of three patients with PIFP using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory found common characteristics among patients (egocentrism, high levels of insecurity, shame, and harm avoidance), suggesting exaggerated attention to pain and oneself, which may play a fundamental role in chronicity and resistance to treatment. 3 Depression is present in more than 80% of patients with BPD. 14 The clinician must identify the correlation between depression and BPD since treatment with antidepressants alone may not be effective.…”

Craniofacial Pain: Frequent Combined Diagnosis in Complex Unique Patients

“…It has been observed a high index of harm avoidance, pessimism, and low levels of cooperation and selftranscendence in patients with pain, which needs further research. This should be considered when planning the strategy of assessment to achieve higher levels of adherence of the patient to the treatment [12]. Besides, there is an impact of pain in life that aff ects the existential dimension [1], and the support of trained psychologists can contribute to the success of the treatment of patients with craniofacial pain [13].…”