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Biomedical subjects

R C Hall

Publications and source records attributed to R C Hall.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Yield of psychiatric consultants' recommendations for diagnostic action.

The results of diagnostic measures proposed by psychiatric consultants were examined in a retrospective study of 793 medical records. Of 302 recommendations implemented by consultees, 137 yielded abnormal findings. Abnormalities were widely distributed among laboratory determinations, diagnostic procedures, and psychological tests. Highest yields were associated with EEGs, thyroid function studies, vitamin B12 and folate levels, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Two thirds of cases with one or more implemented recommendation were found to have an abnormal result. These findings suggest that consultees may curtail medical examinations of patients with psychiatric symptomatology. The outcomes demonstrate the merits of the diagnostic recommendations offered by psychiatric consultants and underscore the advantages conferred on patient and consultee by a consultant with a firm base on medical knowledge.

Electroencephalography↗

The medical care of psychiatric patients.

Longitudinal and cross-sectional data have demonstrated a high incidence of physical illness among psychiatric patient populations. Problems involved in the treatment of medically ill psychiatric patients include the nonspecificity of psychiatric symptoms, the inadequacy of previous examinations by a nonpsychiatric physician to rule out the possibility of physical disease causing psychiatric symptoms, and the patient's lack of awareness of current or pre-existing physical disease when consulting the psychiatrist. The following review examines nine categories of medical disorders that are known to produce psychiatric symptoms, with discussion of the psychiatric manifestations. Implications for current practice and training are briefly considered.

Brain Neoplasms↗

Unrecognized physical illness prompting psychiatric admission: a prospective study.

The authors studied 100 state hospital psychiatric patients consecutively admitted to a research ward who were screened to eliminate physical illness before admission. They found an unusually high incidence of medical illness: 46% of these patients had an unrecognized medical illness that either caused or exacerbated their psychiatric illness, 80% had physical illnesses requiring treatment, and 4% had precancerous conditions or illnesses. A workup consisting of psychiatric and physical examination, SMA-34, urinalysis, ECG, and EEG after sleep deprivation identified over 90% of medical illnesses present in this population. The authors suggest that such a battery be part of the routine workup for all hospitalized psychiatric patients.

Adolescent↗