Including a chapter on the psychiatric care of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) runs the risk of suggesting that the evaluation and treatment of patients differ depending on patients' location in the general hospital. Such a risk evokes…
Overview Most of us take our ability to function physically (e.g., to open a tube of toothpaste, answer the telephone, tie our shoelaces, use the toilet, or comb our hair) and cognitively for granted. However, these capabilities can be lost…
Overview Burn injuries are as ancient as fire itself. All afflicted individuals need help and many require psychiatric consultation; their psychiatric care may be as challenging as their surgical care. Depending on their experience, physicians, nurses, and trainees new to…
Overview The seriousness of the diagnosis of cancer challenges the capacity to survive, sets a course in life, and dashes hopes and dreams. Over the 20th century, even as cancer treatments improved and some patients were cured, psychiatrists in the…
Overview Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are prevalent in disenfranchised populations, including substance users, men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), sex workers, ethnic minorities, and the seriously mentally ill, who all have particular difficulty advocating for and accessing…
Overview Solid organ transplantation is an accepted, successful, and commonly employed treatment option for patients with end-organ failure. Transplantation recipients of a heart, liver, kidney, lung(s), pancreas, or small intestine now live longer with an overall improved quality of life.…
Introduction Psychiatric and gastrointestinal (GI) diseases have a bi-directional relationship that reflects a complex interplay between the central and enteric nervous systems. The assorted symptoms, sensations, and syndromes that result from this reciprocal relationship are associated with alterations in immune…
Overview General hospital psychiatrists are frequently asked to consult on patients with renal disease, a patient population that accounts for approximately 4.5 million adults in the United States ( cdc.org ). Among these individuals, psychiatric consultation is most commonly requested…
Overview Caring for cardiac patients can present a host of dilemmas for the general hospital psychiatrist. Patients with psychiatric conditions may exhibit cardiac symptoms, psychotropic agents can result in electrocardiographic abnormalities, and psychiatric manifestations may result from cardiac conditions. Because…
Overview A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation of any patient in the general hospital setting should include close attention to complaints, impairments, and deviations of sexual function. Although on occasion, sexual problems are the primary reason for consultation, more often they may…