A Study of Psychiatric Referrals in a Tertiary Care Hospital
Abstract
Liaison psychiatry is the one of the lynchpin between psychiatry and other specialties. The
incidence of mental disorders in hospitalized physically ill patients has been found to range from 5.0
to 50.0.(4) The objective was to study about the pattern of psychiatric referrals in our hospital which a
tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu . All possible consecutive cases referred from different outpatient
and inpatient departments during the period from December 2012 to May 2013 were included in the
study. The patients were evaluated and diagnosis given as per ICD 10 criteria. A total of 257
psychiatric referrals were sent. Maximum number of referrals was from Medicine Department followed
by Surgery. The most prevalent ICD-10 diagnosis was Neurotic Stress related and Somatoform
Disorders. The reasons for consultation include unexplained physical symptoms, attempted suicide,
altered behaviour and sensorium, presence of psychiatric illness. Consultation Psychiatry through the
referral system is only a tip of the iceberg of the actual potential of psychiatric involvement in general
hospital practice. Further research is necessary to find ways to realise the actual potential of
consultation-liaison psychiatry in a tertiary hospital setup.
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