EPA-1623 – Liasion Psichiatry and Bipolar Disorder in the General Hospital

Abstract

Introduction

The liaison psychiatrist often attends Bipolar disorder (BD) patients when they are admitted to a general hospital. There is little research and literature about special needs of these patients. It is important a detail examination of characteristic of the consultations carried out by liaison psychiatrist.

Objectives

Analyse the demand for mental health liaison consultation for people diagnosed of Bipolar Disorder (BD).

Methods

Evaluation of clinical data obtained from the consultations attended to patients diagnosed of BD by a liaison psychiatry service from 2010 to 2012 in a general hospital.

Results

The number of consultations attended was 824. 34 of them (4,12%) were patients diagnosed of a BD. Their mean age was 61,26 (DE 12,93). All the patients attended had previous psychiatric history. The 65% of them were receiving outpatient psychiatric treatment at admission. The departments that most frequently requested consultation were internal medicine with 26, 47% of the total ; Neurology and Surgery both with 14,7%; Traumatology, Digestive, Cardiology and intensive care with 8,82% each of them. A pharmacological intervention was carried out in 44% of cases while only 5,88% of patients required both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions. In 50% of the requests an evaluation was the intervention.

Conclusions

We found a low percentage of demand of attention in patients with BP. This data are similar to studies. We should consider the possibility of inappropriate consultations among data analyzed. This might be related to lack of information for the management of people with BD in other specialties.