The comparison of the consultation-liaison in the psychiatry department of a general hospital before and after the outbreak of COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: To compare the status of the consultation-liaison in the psychiatry department of inpatients in a general hospital before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods: 842 patients in a tertiary hospital during 2019 and 904 patients since the beginning of the epidemic in 2020 were enrolled in this study. Demographic data, departments that requested consultation, mental disorders, and the psychiatric treatments were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Among the 1746 patients, most patients were 45 to 70 years old. The department of hematology received the most applications for consultation. In 2020, requests from the departments of cardiac and vascular surgeries, contrary to the emergency department, increased significantly. 32.6% patients were diagnosed with organic mental disorder. Delirium was the most common disorder, followed by anxiety and depression. After the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, the stress-associated and sleep disorders increased. Conclusions: In general hospitals, clinical departments have great demands forpsychiatric consultation.Since the pandemic, patients requiring consultations for stress-related disorders and sleep disorders increased. Moreover, patients with cardiac and major vascular surgeries suffering from mental and emotional disturbances also increased. The ability of non-psychiatrists in identifying and treating mental disorders and the awareness of biopsychosocial (BPS) models need to be improved.