[Etiology of isolated general malaise]

Isolated general malaise (IGM) is defined as an imprecise sensation of feeling bad, without any other signs or symptoms that suggest even a diagnostic orientation. 137 patients who demanded medical help for IGM were selected and divided into three groups, according to their evolution: IGM of banal or benign cause; IGM of easy or attainable diagnosis; and IGM of difficult or prolonged diagnosis. The 37 patients of the latter group were integrated under the title of Unexplained General Malaise Syndrome (UGMS). The criteria of these syndromes are defined. The patients with UGMS were studied in order to make a diagnosis of its unknown disease, which was achieved in all cases except two. The non-specific symptoms that the patients with UGMS manifest and their relation to final diagnosis are described. When the final diagnosis was made, the number of diagnostic tests used, the time of hospitalisation and the derived economic cost was estimated in each case compared to the corresponding mean data, obtained. Depression as the most frequent aetiology detected in the patients with UGMS, should be the first consideration made in any evaluation.