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  • Title: Patterns of psychiatric consultation in an Austrian tertiary care center - results of a systematic analysis of 3,307 referrals over 2 years.
    Author: Rothenhäusler HB, Stepan A, Kreiner B, Baranyi A, Kapfhammer HP.
    Journal: Psychiatr Danub; 2008 Sep; 20(3):301-9. PubMed ID: 18827755.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenology of a newly structured Austrian tertiary - care hospital consultation - liaison (C - L) psychiatry service. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We compared two 1 - year surveys over two years of observation (2003 - 2005). Survey A (August 1, 2003, until July 31, 2004) comprised 1474 consecutive new consultations, and the more recent Survey B (August 1, 2004, until July 31, 2005) extended over 1833 consecutive new referrals to our C - L service. Psychiatric referrals were analyzed with regard to consultation rate, demographic characteristics, referring departments, principal reasons for referral, diagnostic characteristics, and intervention patterns. RESULTS: The consultation rate increased by 0.61% from 2.69% in Survey A to 3.30% in Survey B. Internal medicine consistently accounted for almost 31% of all referrals in both surveys. In Survey A, the most common psychiatric diagnoses were adjustment disorders (21.4%), depressive disorders (18.5%), and delirium (18.1%). The most prevalent diagnoses in Survey B were adjustment disorders (24.5%), delirium (18.8%), and depressive disorders (14.3%). Pharmacotherapy was the most frequent action in both surveys and accounted for between 45% and 49% of all actions. CONCLUSION: This study underscores the need for specially planned C - L services in Austria that provide both psychiatric and psychosocial care for patients who are medically ill.
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