[Psychological evaluation of out-patients in our pain clinic using self-rating depression scale and state-trate anxiety inventory questionnaire].

In 98 out-patients who visited our pain clinic, we evaluated their psychological status before the first examination and one month after the treatment, using self-rating depression scale (SDS) and state-trate anxiety inventory (STAI). SDS, state anxiety, and trate anxiety scores were significantly higher in the patients with pain (trigeminal neuralgia, neck-shoulder-arm pain syndrome, lumbago and psychological pain, n = 55) compared with the patients without pain (sudden deafness and facial nerve palsy, n = 43) (P < 0.01, 0.05, 0.01). Of the patients with pain, patients with psychogenic pain showed the highest score in every test. The scores of SDS and state anxiety became significantly lower one month after the treatments compared with ones before the first examination (P < 0.01). It was considered that the decline in every score was due to the treatments in our pain clinic. In patients whose score of trate anxiety before the first examination was more than 50 points, the SDS and state anxiety showed high scores even one month after the treatments. This finding suggests that these patients need psychosomatic managements.