Geriatric Medicine for Old-Age Psychiatrists PDF

Preface

The interface between physical ill health and mental health problems is complex. It is well recognised that there can often be primarily a psychiatric presentation of an underlying physical disease. The prevalence of the major psychiatric disorders (delirium, depression, dementia) is higher in people who are physically ill.

the reasoning behind this book is that it should serve as an update for practitioners in old age psychiatry who may not have had much exposure to general medical issues and that. Exposure may have been some while ago, with skills atrophying and knowledge waning over time.

We hope to summarize some of the major clinical problems seen not uncommonly in the general practice of old age psychiatry review the process of history taking and examination in relation to physical health, try,' to help with the interpretation of investigations and provide a summary of some of the commoner drugs used.

It. is not, meant to replace the generally very cordial relations between colleagues in old age psychiatry and geriatric medicine, but perhaps more to give clinicians in the former discipline some confidence in what they are doing, and if it cuts out some unnecessary referrals or makes the information which backs up those referrals a little better then the hook will have been a success.