Psychiatric morbidity among the general hospital medical patients in Kuwait: characteristics of psychiatric patients

ABSTRACT

A considerable number of medical out-patients seen in a general hospital are known to suffer from psychiatric rather than/in addition to the physical disorder. Moreover, a substantial number of such patients, passing undetected by the physicians, end up being physically examined and investigated, at times far too extensively. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of such patients in a general hospital in Kuwait. The sample consisted of 100 new medical out-patient clinic attenders. Each patient was administered a semi-structured interview. The items of the interview were derived from the Present State Examination, and the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases was used to assign psychiatric diagnoses. Fifty-one out of the 100 patients suffered from psychiatric disorders. In only 5 cases was the disorder recognized. Psychiatric disorders were commoner in females and were not related to the nature of the physical disorders. Conclusions: Inclusion of some screening questions about mood disorders in the standard medical interview may help detect some of the psychiatric patients presenting in the general medical out-patient clinics. In addition, periodic clinical meetings between psychiatrists and physicians may enhance physicians' awareness of the potential psychiatric morbidity amongst the medical out-patients