Siddhartha Paul1, Madhusudan Saha2, Mohammad Shafiul Islam3,
Tabibul Islam4, Nandita Paul5, Aklima Akter Hely6
Tabibul Islam4, Nandita Paul5, Aklima Akter Hely6
1. Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, North East Medical College, Sylhet
2. Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, North East Medical College, Sylhet
3. Associate Professor (CC), Department of Psychiatry, Brahhmanbaria Medical College, Chittagong
4. Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet
5. Dermatologist, Sylhet
6. Medical Officer, Department of Psychiatry, North East Medical College, Sylhet
Abstract
Liaison psychiatry is the one of the lynchpin between psychiatry and the other medical specialties. The incidence of mental disorders in hospitalized physically ill patients has been found to range from 5.0% to 50.0%. Present study was carried out in the Psychiatry outpatient department of North East Medical College Hospital from April to September 2017 to find out the frequency and pattern of Psychiatric referral. A total of 50 patients (26 male and 24 female) were studied. Their psychiatric statuses were evaluated as per DSM – V criteria. Patients’ mean age was 32.92 ± 11.87 years and most of them were male (52.0%). 54.0% patients were referred from the Gastroenterology department and the commonest diagnosis was Anxiety Disorder (32.0%). Consultation through the referral system is only a tip of the iceberg of the psychiatric involvement of patients in general hospital practice. Further research is needed to find out the actual potential.
Key Words: Liaison psychiatry, psychiatric morbidity.