6 research outputs found
Transfers to psychiatry through the consultation-liaison psychiatry service: 11 years of experience
BACKGROUND: There are only a few reports on issues related to patient transfer from medical and surgical departments to the psychiatric ward by the consultation-liaison psychiatry service, although it is a common practice. Here, we present a study assessing the factors that influence such transfers. METHOD: We examined the demographic and clinical backgrounds of a group of patients transferred from internal medicine and surgery to the psychiatric ward over an 11-year period. A comparison was made of this data with data obtained from a group of non-transferred patients, also seen by the same consultation-liaison psychiatry service. RESULTS: According to our findings, the typical transferred patient, either female or male, is single, divorced or widowed, lives alone, belongs to a lower socioeconomic class, presents initially with (on the whole) a disturbed and disruptive behaviour, has had a recent suicide attempt with persistent suicidal ideas, suffers from a mood disorder (mainly depressive and dysthymic disorders), has a prior psychiatric history as well as a prior psychiatric inpatient treatment, and a positive diagnosis on axis II of the five axis system used for mental health diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The transfer of a patient to the psychiatric ward is a decision depending on multiple factors. Medical diagnoses do not seem to play a major role in the transfer to the psychiatric ward. From the psychiatric diagnosis, depressive and dysthymic disorders are the most common in the transferred population, whilst the transfer is influenced by social factors regarding the patient, the patient's behaviour, the conditions in the ward she/he is treated in and any recent occurrence(s) that increase the anxiety of the staff
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS): validation in a Greek general hospital sample
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) has been used in several languages to assess anxiety and depression in general hospital patients with good results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The HADS was administered to 521 participants (275 controls and 246 inpatients and outpatients of the Internal Medicine and Surgical Departments in 'Attikon' General Hospital in Athens). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used as 'gold standards' for depression and anxiety respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The HADS presented high internal consistency; Cronbach's α cofficient was 0.884 (0.829 for anxiety and 0.840 for depression) and stability (test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient 0.944). Factor analysis showed a two-factor structure. The HADS showed high concurrent validity; the correlations of the scale and its subscales with the BDI and the STAI were high (0.722 – 0.749).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Greek version of HADS showed good psychometric properties and could serve as a useful tool for clinicians to assess anxiety and depression in general hospital patients.</p
Cognitive decline and dementia in elderly medical inpatients remain underestimated and underdiagnosed in a recently established university general hospital in Greece
The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of cognitive decline
as well as its recognition rates in elderly inpatients in a general
hospital in Greece. Two hundred randomly selected patients, 65 years old
and over, hospitalized in surgery and internal medicine departments,
were assessed for cognitive decline in a period of 12 months by means of
structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis-I disorders, clinical
version (SCID-IV), mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the clock
drawing test (CDT). During the next 12 months the liaison calls were
evaluated and the two periods were compared. During the first screening
period, when psychiatric assessment was performed, 61 patients (30.5%)
were diagnosed to present cognitive decline. During the second period,
there were only 20 liaison calls from the same departments for patients
over 65 years of age, from which 15 patients were found to present
cognitive decline. Comparison between the two periods showed significant
underestimation of cognitive decline. In the general hospital the
cognitive decline of elderly inpatients remains still under-recognized.
(C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
Major depression in elderly medical inpatients in Greece, prevalence and identification
Background: The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of
episodes of DSM-IV major depression, as well as their identification
rates, in elderly inpatients in a general hospital in Greece. Methods:
200 selected patients, 65 years old and over, hospitalized in Surgery
and Internal Medicine Departments, were assessed for major depression
over a period of 12 months (October 2006-November 2007) by means of
SCID-I/P, HADS, BDI and GDS-15. During the same period, liaison calls
from the same departments were evaluated and findings were compared.
Results: When psychiatric screening was performed, 28 patients (14%)
were diagnosed as suffering from a major depressive episode. During the
same period, there were only 20 liaison calls from the same departments
for patients over 65 years old, from which 4 patients were found to be
suffering from major depression. Comparison between the two periods
showed significant underestimation of depression. All psychometric
scales detected depression sufficiently. Conclusions: In general
hospital elderly inpatients, depression still remains underestimated.
Depression symptom scales could be used as routine tests for screening
major depression. (Aging Clin Exp Res 2010; 22: 148-151) (C) 2010,
Editrice Kurti