Iram Shakir Kiani, Ashfaq Ahmed, Faryal Mahmood.
Anxiety and Depression presenting to a General Medical Clinic.
J Surg Pak Jan ;9(3):27-31.

Objectives: (i) To highlight the presence of morbid anxiety and depression in patients presenting to general medical clinics, with masked symptoms of other medical disorders. (ii) To assess the awareness of common psychiatric illnesses amongst the public as well as the health professionals. (iii) To show the simplicity of treatment of these illnesses. Design: It was an interventional study. Place & Duration The study was conducted in the medical outpatient department of Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from August, 2001 to June, 2003. Patients And Methods: The study included 350 consecutive patients (260 females & 90 males) with symptoms suggestive of various medical illnesses. They were diagnosed to have a purely psychiatric illness using the American Psychiatric Association DSM-IV criteria. All the patients were given pharmacologic treatments like SSRI`s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or TCA`s (Tricylic antidepressants) and followed for a period of one year Results: There was a preponderance of generalized anxiety disorders - GAD (56%); depression (24%) and panic disorders - RD (20%) followed them. A significant proportion (around 60%) of patients were misdiagnosed to be suffering from a medical disease. Response to treatment was exceptionally gratifying Conclusion: There is a dire need for awareness and training regarding psychiatric illnesses amongst the public and the health professionals.

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