Psychiatric comorbidity in hospitalized patients evaluated by psychiatric consultation in a Brazilian tertiary hospital: A study protocol

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62486/agsalud2025200

Keywords:

Psychiatry, Mental Disorders, Hospitalization

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of mental disorders in the general population has been increasing in recent years, with the incidence of these diseases being even higher in hospitalized populations. The rates of depression in these patients are four to five times higher than in the general population. In this regard, it is important to understand the incidence of psychiatric disorders in different sectors of tertiary hospitals to recognize, locate, and treat the main pathologies and provide better medical care to hospitalized patients. Objective: To assess the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the demographic profile of patients hospitalized in a tertiary hospital in Brazil who underwent psychiatric consultation. Method: This is an observational, descriptive, analytical, and retrospective study that will be conducted through the collection of patient records via psychiatric consultation, gathering demographic data and hospitalization-related data such as the origin of admission, primary diagnosis, psychiatric diagnosis, proposed treatment, among others. Conclusion: The identified challenges include the underutilization of psychiatric consultations and variability in the protocols adopted. Improving services requires data uniformity and proper diagnosis to optimize hospital care quality and reduce costs.

References

World Health Organization. World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338. Published 2022. Accessed 2024.

Rackley S, Bostwick JM. Depression in medically ill patients. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2012;35(1):231–47. Accessed 2024.

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - IHME. Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx). Available from: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results. Published 2021. Accessed 2024.

van Niekerk M, Walker J, Hobbs H, et al. The Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders in General Hospital Inpatients: A Systematic Umbrella Review. J Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry. 2022;63(6):567-578. doi:10.1016/j.jaclp.2022.04.004. Accessed 2024.

Ene S. The role of consultation-liaison psychiatry in the general hospital. J Med Life. 2008;1(4):429-431. Accessed 2024.

Gautam S, Gautam M, Jain A, Yadav K. Overview of practice of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Indian J Psychiatry. 2022;64(Suppl 2):S201-S210. doi:10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_1019_21. Accessed 2024.

Katon W, Lin EH, Kroenke K. The association of depression and anxiety with medical symptom burden in patients with chronic medical illness. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2007;29(2):147-155. doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2006.11.005. Accessed 2024.

Palmer PK, Wehrmeyer K, Florian MP, Raison C, Idler E, Mascaro JS. The prevalence, grouping, and distribution of stressors and their association with anxiety among hospitalized patients. PLoS One. 2021;16(12):e0260921. Published 2021 Dec 6. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0260921. Accessed 2024.

Gerges S, Hallit R, Hallit S. Stressors in hospitalized patients and their associations with mental health outcomes: testing perceived social support and spiritual well-being as moderators. BMC Psychiatry. 2023;23(1):323. Published 2023 May 9. doi:10.1186/s12888-023-04833-6. Accessed 2024.

Meneghetti CC, Guidolin BL, Zimmermann PR, Sfoggia A. Screening for symptoms of anxiety and depression in patients admitted to a university hospital with acute coronary syndrome. Trends Psychiatry Psychother. 2017;39(1):12-18. doi:10.1590/2237-6089-2016-0004. Accessed 2024.

Bauer LK, Caro MA, Beach SR, et al. Effects of depression and anxiety improvement on adherence to medication and health behaviors in recently hospitalized cardiac patients. Am J Cardiol. 2012;109(9):1266-1271. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2011.12.017 Accessed 2024.

Reis B, Tsai JH-C. Prevalence of Psychiatric Diagnoses and Psychiatric Consultation Service Utilization on Inpatient Medical Units. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2022;28(4):326–31. doi:10.1177/10783903211005543. Accessed 2024.

Gruber J, Lordan G, Pilling S, Propper C, Saunders R. The impact of mental health support for the chronically ill on hospital utilisation: Evidence from the UK. Soc Sci Med. 2022;294:114675. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114675. Accessed 2024.

Nakabayashi TIK, Guerra KA, Souza RM de, et al.. Comparação entre solicitações psiquiátricas de dois hospitais gerais universitários brasileiros: uso do protocolo de registro de interconsulta em saúde mental. Cad Saúde Pública. 2010;26(6):1246-1260. doi:10.1590/S0102-311X2010000600017. Accessed 2024.

Botega NJ. Consultation-liaison psychiatry in Brazil. Psychiatric residency training. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1992;14(3):186-191. doi:10.1016/0163-8343(92)90081-k. Accessed 2024

Fißler M, Quante A. Psychiatric liaison consultations of patients without psychiatric illness in a general hospital in Germany: a retrospective analysis. Wien Med Wochenschr. 2015;165(21-22):436-444. doi:10.1007/s10354-015-0384-3. Accessed 2024.

Krautgartner M, Alexandrowicz R, Benda N, Wancata J. Need and utilization of psychiatric consultation services among general hospital inpatients. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2006;41(4):294-301. doi:10.1007/s00127-005-0025-z. Accessed 2024.

Downloads

Published

2025-01-01

Issue

Section

Original

How to Cite

1.
Barreto Alcântara GJ, Pires de Carvalho R, Mendes de Paula Pessoa R. Psychiatric comorbidity in hospitalized patients evaluated by psychiatric consultation in a Brazilian tertiary hospital: A study protocol. AG Salud [Internet]. 2025 Jan. 1 [cited 2024 Dec. 2];3:200. Available from: https://agsalud.ageditor.org/index.php/agsalud/article/view/200