ABSTRACT
Ninety-six patients presenting to a university hospital emergency department were screened before triage for psychological symptoms or cognitive impairment using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Mini-Mental State examination (MMS). Charts were reviewed for demographic information and emergency physicians' recognition of psychological symptoms or cognitive dysfunction. Of the patients studied, 38% had positive results on the GHQ, and 18% had positive results on the MMS. Psychological symptoms or cognitive impairments were recognized by the emergency physicians in only 8% of those with positive GHQ results and 6% of those with positive MMS results. The usefulness of screening measures for psychological symptoms and cognitive impairment of emergency department patients is discussed.
Subject(s)
Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Emergency Service, Hospital , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/epidemiology , District of Columbia , Female , Hospitals, University , Hospitals, Urban , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Status Schedule , Psychological TestsABSTRACT
Of 100 consecutive patients on a psychiatric consultation service, 80 had sleep disorders; 72 had insomnia. Disturbed sleep was not mentioned in the records of 54% of the 80 patients, indicating a need for more physician education in sleep disorders.
