General Hospital Psychiatry Flashcards
What can medications affect mood
Low mood- beta blockers
Altered mood- steroids
What are the most common mental health problems in the hospital?
Affective disorders (depression, anxiety) Self harm Delirium Substance misuse disorders Functional disorders Personality disorders Dementia Eating disorders
How does depression present in the hospital
Two times as likely
More likely in chronic illness e.g. renal failure, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis
May be caused to inflammatory reaction?
Common in neurological disease e.g. MS, Parkinson’s, stroke
May be more difficult to detect due to overlap in symptoms
How does self harm present in hospitals?
Most common admission for woman under 65,
All psychiatric admitted with self harm receive a psychiatric assessment
Most common method of self harm they see is paracetamol overdose
15-20% repeat within a year
Co-morbid use of substances is quite common
How does alcohol present in hospital
20% of admissions are related to alcohol May present as: Physical complications Intoxication Withdrawl Alcohol related brain damage Trauma/accident Drug induced psychosis Feigned illness in order to obtain drugs
How do eating disorders present in hospital?
Primary physical disorder may initially be suspected
More common in younger females but can present at any age, males also affected
May initially require physical stabilisation and appropriate diagnosis.
Why is it important to treat mental health disorders in hospital
Provide appropriate mental health treatment Shorten length of treatment Avoidance of unnecessary investigations Enhance recovery and rehab Improve QoL
What is a functional disorder?
Medically unexplained syndromes.
No demonstrable pathology although there are symptoms
“Hardware works fine but software doesn’t”
What are the different classes of functional disorders?
Dissociative
Somatofirm
Other neurotic disorders (neurasthenia)
How do you treat a functional disorder?
Refer them website- Neurosyptoms.org, FND hope
In underlying co-morbid disease, treat that
CBT
Others including psychodynamic therapies
