| Unrecognized physical illness prompting psychiatric admission. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 20680191 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
BACKGROUND: We assessed factors that might contribute to clinicians erroneously attributing medically based changes in a patient's mental status to psychiatric illness. METHODS: Records of 1340 patients admitted to a VA hospital psychiatric unit and 613 to a public hospital psychiatric unit from 2001 to 2007 were reviewed. Cases admitted because of an unrecognized medical disorder underwent further analysis of the preadmission assessment and documented history of mental illness. RESULTS: Of 1340 patients whose records were reviewed, 55 (2.8%) had a medical disorder that caused their symptoms. Compared with patients admitted to medical units, patients inappropriately admitted to psychiatric units had lower rates of completion of medical histories, physical examinations, cognitive assessments, indicated laboratory and/or radiologic studies, and treatment of abnormal vital signs (P < .001 in each case). Among patients admitted to psychiatric units, 85.5% had a history of mental illness vs 30.9% of comparable admissions to medical units (Chi2(1) = 35.85; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Key assessment procedures are less likely to be performed in patients with mental status changes who are admitted to psychiatric units than in comparable patients admitted to medical units. Symptoms of patients with a history of mental illness are more likely to be attributed to psychiatric illness than are those of patients without such a history. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Roy R Reeves; Jefferson D Parker; Peggy Loveless; Randy S Burke; Roy H Hart |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Annals of clinical psychiatry : official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists Volume: 22 ISSN: 1547-3325 ISO Abbreviation: Ann Clin Psychiatry Publication Date: 2010 Aug |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-08-03 Completed Date: 2011-01-04 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 8911021 Medline TA: Ann Clin Psychiatry Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 180-5 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
University of Mississippi School of Medicine, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216 USA. roy.reeves@va.gov |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Adolescent Adult Aged Comorbidity Delayed Diagnosis Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic, Cognitive Disorders / diagnosis*, epidemiology, etiology, psychology Diagnostic Errors* / psychology, statistics & numerical data Female Hospitals, Veterans Humans Male Medical History Taking Mental Disorders / diagnosis, epidemiology, psychology Mental Status Schedule Middle Aged Mississippi Patient Admission* Psychiatric Department, Hospital* Referral and Consultation / statistics & numerical data Retrospective Studies Substance-Related Disorders / diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology, psychology Young Adult |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: The relationship of marital status and clinical characteristics in middle-aged and older patients wi...
Next Document: Biological correlates of direct exposure to terrorism several years postdisaster.