Evaluation of Psychiatric Consultations of Elderly Hospitalized Patients: What are the Psychological Complaints and Diagnoses?

Abstract

In the aging world population, inpatient services for elderly patients have become an increasingly important issue. These patients may have accompanying psychological problems and mental disorders. Psychological evaluations of the patients, in which situations psychiatric consultation should be requested and the principles of psychiatric approach should be determined. This study aimed to determine the risk factors leading to psychiatric consultation in elderly hospitalized patients, determine psychiatric comorbidities, and determine the role of psychiatric consultations in psychopharmacological treatment. All psychiatric consultations requested from patients over 65 years of age hospitalized patients in University of Health Sciences Ankara City Hospital from September 2019 to March 2020 (189 male and 137 female, in total 326) were evaluated. The files of the patients were examined retrospectively through the hospital system, and the information was recorded in the data collection form. This form includes the following information: sociodemographic characteristics, hospitalization service, the reason for hospitalization, additional diseases other than hospitalization diagnosis, duration of hospitalization, the reason for requesting psychiatric consultation, diagnosis after psychiatric consultation, psychotropic drugs used before the consultation, psychotropic drugs recommended after consultation, the total number of drugs used. While agitation is the most common reason for psychiatry consultation in elderly patients, the most common psychiatric disease diagnosis is delirium. Drug treatment was not recommended to almost one-third of the patients, and recommendations were made to increase psychosocial and treatment compliance regarding their complaints. Patients diagnosed with delirium have higher re-consultation rates. Haloperidol and quetiapine are the most commonly recommended psychotropic. Sertraline and escitalopram are the most commonly recommended antidepressants in elderly hospitalized patients. Psychiatric consultations should be planned without workforce loss, and in a more qualified way, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions should be appropriately performed.