Profile and assessment outcome of patients in the emergency department managed by consultation-liaison psychiatry: a cross-sectional study

Background: Outcomes following consultation-liaison psychiatry (CLP) assessment provide key direction for mental health care regarding crisis intervention. Aim: We intended to find the clinical characteristics of all consecutive psychiatric patients referred to CLP in a month (n = 100), specifically reasons for referral, diagnoses, stressors, the outcomes of the assessment, and subsequent care pathways. Settings and Design: Emergency department in a General Hospital. A cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: Data was extracted from electronic patient records in a predesigned proforma. International Classification of Disease-10 and index of multiple deprivations were used. Statistical Analysis: Percentages, mean and standard deviation. Results: The sample (56 male and 44 female patients) mostly belonged to the deprived areas of the city. The majority (90%) of them presented with thoughts or behaviors related to self-harm or suicide. Most (73.0%) of them had psychiatric diagnoses; depression (36%) was the most common, followed by personality disorders (22%) and alcohol or substance use disorders (17%), and many of them had comorbidities. Almost half of the patients (48%) had self-harm history. A considerable proportion (40%) was under the influence of substances when they attended the emergency department. Common psychosocial stressors were relational problems (38%) with partner or family followed by pandemic-related concerns (19%). More than a third (37%) of the sample was seen in the previous 12 months, and the re-attendance rate in the 3 months following the study was 21%. While acute psychiatric care was provided to around 30% (inpatient admission: 13% and home treatment: 17%), 24% were discharged to general practitioners and 18% to community mental health teams. Conclusions: Most patients managed by CLP had multiple complex clinical needs along with suicidality. This suggested that a robust suicide risk management strategy and supportive resources are essential components of CLP care.

Citation

Kar N, Pandian H. (2025) Profile and assessment outcome of patients in the emergency department managed by consultation‑liaison psychiatry: A cross‑sectional study. Annals of Indian Psychiatry 0;0:0.

Type

Journal article

Language

en

Description

© 2025 Annals of Indian Psychiatry, published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://journals.lww.com/aips/fulltext/9900/profile_and_assessment_outcome_of_patients_in_the.126.aspx

ISSN

2588-8358

Collections

Faculty of Science and Engineering