Evaluation of the Characteristics of Psychiatric Consultation in a General Hospital in Tehran, Iran, over Eight Years and Comparing the Characteristics during 2008-2017

Maryam  Soltani Ramezan Zadeh; Atefeh Ghanbari; Raziyeh Salehian; Mahtab Khorasanizade

doi:10.18502/jimc.v7i3.15724

Maryam Soltani Ramezan Zadeh Faculty of Medicine, Rasoul-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Atefeh Ghanbari Faculty of Medicine, Rasoul-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Raziyeh Salehian Department Psychosomatic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Mahtab Khorasanizade Faculty of Medicine, Rasoul-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v7i3.15724

Keywords: Adjustment disorders, Depression, Depressive disorder, General, Hospitals, Major, Prevalence, Sub-stance-related disorders

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of psychiatric consultations in a general hospital.

Methods: All the patients hospitalized in Rasoul Akram Hospital from April 2011 to March 2019 who were asked for a psychiatric consultation were studied. Patients’ information was obtained from the patients’ records. The records of the year 2008 were also used to compare the characteristics between the years 2008 and 2017.

Results: Over an eight-year period, 0.61% of the patients received psychiatric consultations. 54% of the consulted patients were male and 46% were female. The mean age of the patients was 44.7±18.72 years. The highest requested consultations (28.4%) were from the internal department followed by the surgery department (11.8%). The highest frequency of the reasons for requesting consultation was presence of psychiatric symptoms (27.5%). The most common psychiatric diagnosis was adjustment disorder (18.4%) followed by major depressive disorder (14.2%). Comparing consultations in the year 2008 with 2017 demonstrated that 1.57% of the patients admitted in 2008 and 1.17% of the patients in 2017 received psychiatric consultations, and in both years, the number of male patients was higher than females, the highest demand for consultation was from the internal department, and the most common reason for seeking consultation was the presence of psychiatric symptoms and then depressive symptoms. In 2008, the most common diagnosis was major depressive disorder and in 2017 was substance use disorder.

Conclusion: The consultation rate was alarmingly low in this study compared to the other studies.