Successful treatment of chronic pain in a patient with a history of traumatic events after nurse consultation at a multidisciplinary pain center: a case report

Abstract

A housewife in her 30s referred to our multidisciplinary pain center with a 10-year history of right chest pain. Initial consultation by a nurse revealed the following: 1) she was a perfectionist and had a serious disposition; 2) she took care so that she was not deserted by her mother and husband; 3) she had experienced several emotionally traumatic episodes and 4) she believed that she would die because of the pain. Nurses interviewed her mother to investigate the relationship between them and to get further information about her daughter's previous negative experiences. The investigation revealed that she was highly anxious in nature and was extremely fearful following an experience of encountering the dead body of her friend on the way to school and being bullied in school age. The nurse's consultation at the multidisciplinary pain center might have facilitated the identification of the psychosocial element of her pain.