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Article

The Prevalence of Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Emergency Neurology Service

by
Marija Ernoić
1,
Lana Oštro
1,
Petra Črnac
1,
Jelena Košćak Lukač
1,
Marina Milošević
1,
Latica Friedrich
1,
Josip Sremec
1,
Ana Sruk
1,
Berislav Dalić
1,
Ivan Bielen
1,2,
Sanja Tomasović
1,2,
Darija Mahović
3 and
Hrvoje Budinčević
1,2,4,*
1
Department of Neurology, Sveti Duh University Hospital, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
3
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
4
Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Medicina 2026, 62(1), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62010121
Submission received: 11 November 2025 / Revised: 28 December 2025 / Accepted: 31 December 2025 / Published: 6 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Neurology)
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Abstract

Background and Objectives: Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) represent a clinical syndrome encompassing conditions in which patients present with symptoms that cannot be adequately explained by identifiable organic pathology or do not meet established diagnostic criteria for organic disease. These symptoms pose a diagnostic and management challenge, particularly in acute care settings. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of patients presenting with MUS to the Emergency Neurology Service of a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Emergency Neurology Service of Sveti Duh University Hospital. All patients who were triaged for neurological examination during the study period were included. Following clinical evaluation, attending neurologists assessed the extent to which each patient’s symptoms could be explained by organic disease (“organicity”). This assessment was recorded using a Likert scale ranging from “not at all explained” to “completely explained. Results: Out of 219 patients, 2.7% had symptoms that were rated as “not at all explained” by organic disease, 7.3% “somewhat explained”, 23.3% “largely explained” and 66.7% “completely explained” by organic disease. Conclusions: Approximately one-tenth of patients presenting to our Emergency Neurology Service have symptoms that are poorly explained by identifiable organic disease.
Keywords: unexplained symptoms; somatization; neurology unexplained symptoms; somatization; neurology

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ernoić, M.; Oštro, L.; Črnac, P.; Lukač, J.K.; Milošević, M.; Friedrich, L.; Sremec, J.; Sruk, A.; Dalić, B.; Bielen, I.; et al. The Prevalence of Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Emergency Neurology Service. Medicina 2026, 62, 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62010121

AMA Style

Ernoić M, Oštro L, Črnac P, Lukač JK, Milošević M, Friedrich L, Sremec J, Sruk A, Dalić B, Bielen I, et al. The Prevalence of Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Emergency Neurology Service. Medicina. 2026; 62(1):121. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62010121

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ernoić, Marija, Lana Oštro, Petra Črnac, Jelena Košćak Lukač, Marina Milošević, Latica Friedrich, Josip Sremec, Ana Sruk, Berislav Dalić, Ivan Bielen, and et al. 2026. "The Prevalence of Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Emergency Neurology Service" Medicina 62, no. 1: 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62010121

APA Style

Ernoić, M., Oštro, L., Črnac, P., Lukač, J. K., Milošević, M., Friedrich, L., Sremec, J., Sruk, A., Dalić, B., Bielen, I., Tomasović, S., Mahović, D., & Budinčević, H. (2026). The Prevalence of Medically Unexplained Symptoms in Emergency Neurology Service. Medicina, 62(1), 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62010121

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