Psychiatric comorbidities in cancer patients: acute interventions by the psychiatric consultation liaison service
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Wien Med Wochenschr https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-020-00739-0
Psychiatric comorbidities in cancer patients: acute interventions by the psychiatric consultation liaison service Arnim Quante
· Kristina Schulz · Maria Fissler
Received: 8 November 2019 / Accepted: 10 February 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, ein Teil von Springer Nature 2020
Summary Aim The aim of this study was to explore the psychiatric comorbidities in cancer patients examined by the psychiatric consultation liaison services (CLP) in a general hospital. Furthermore, we intended to examine associations between certain cancers types and psychiatric disorders as well as to give an overview of the psychiatric treatments options that were recommended by the CLP. Methods This retrospective analysis investigated 119 psychiatric consultations for cancer patients in a one year period. The assessment covered demographics and cancer diagnosis, psychiatric diagnosis and proceedings. Results One third of all patients were treated for hematological cancer, followed by lung cancer. Depression was the most common psychiatric disorder.
One third of all patients with hematological cancer were diagnosed with depression, followed by delirium. Inpatient psychiatric treatment and psychotherapy were most commonly recommended by the consultant psychiatrist. Furthermore, 80.2% of all patients received recommendations for medication with antidepressants. Conclusion Our data showed that the CLP provides an important service of detecting and initiating early and appropriate treatment for cancer patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders by directing patients to the relevant treatment procedure or facility.
Author contributions All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Kristina Schulz and Arnim Quante. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Kristina Schulz and Maria Fissler. The conceptualization and methodology was performed by Arnim Quante. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
A cancer diagnosis is a life-changing and often even life-threatening matter for many patients. And considering the implications, it should come as no surprise that comorbid psychiatric disorders are common in cancer patients [1, 2]. Prevalence rates of cancer patients who meet the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis range from one in ten to one in three in recent studies [3–6]. Among these psychiatric disorders, depression is one of the most common. Previous studies reported prevalence rates of 8–25% in oncological and hematological settings [1, 7, 8], while studies of breast cancer estimated rates from 20–57% [8]. Other recurrent comorbid psychiatric disorders include anxiety and adjustment disorders [6, 7, 9], while delirium occurs more frequently in later stages [6, 10, 11]. Various other factors around cancer treatment can further induce depressive symptoms. Some of these are treatment-related factors such as imm
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