The authors conducted a study of psychiatric consultation in a Chinese
general hospital. Seventy-five inpatients (0.74% of the patients in the
hospital) were referred by different services over a 1-year period.
Internal medicine referred the most patients, and organic brain syndromes
were the most common diagnoses. Depression was not a frequent diagnosis,
but neurasthenia was a fairly common one. None of the referred patients had
a diagnosis of alcoholism, drug abuse, or personality disorder. The authors
compare these data with those of Western studies and discuss the possible
factors influencing psychiatric consultation in China.Abstract Teaser