A Study on Spectrum of Clinical Variables on the Patients Attending Psychiatry Outpatient Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objectives The objective of the study is to determine the spectrum of clinical variables of the patients attending psychiatry OPD in a tertiary care hospital and to determine the association of those variables with various sociodemographic factors.The study was conducted in the psychiatric Out-patient Department(OPD) of a tertiary care hospital Barak Valley region in the Northeastern part of India. Material and Methods Retrospective observational study where we assessed 1827 consecutive patients asking for psychiatric services, attending psychiatry OPD of Silchar Medical College & Hospital in the one-year period. Out of a total of 1827 cases, 1200 cases were enrolled for the study, meeting the study criteria. Data regarding sociodemographic profile, duration of illness, and provisional diagnosis were also collected, and self-design proforma was used. For socioeconomic class Modified Kuppuswamy Scale is used. The patients were diagnosed and classified on the basis of ICD-10 Criteria by consultant psychiatrists. The patient’s complete profile and data were presented in tables with the use of Microsoft excel. The data obtained was entered and analyzed by using SPSS Version 21. Any case attending psychiatry opd with psychiatric problems and who were provided psychiatric services. Results Out of a total of 1200 patients, most patients were in the age group of 21–40 years, followed by 41– 60 years. The mean age is 34.5. Majority of them were male (59.4%) belonged to Hindu religion (56.08%),were married (44.41%),and educated upto primary school level (26.75%), living in nuclear family (64%), belonged to lower class socioeconomic status (33.5%). It was seen that the majority of the patients (31.25%) belonged to the ICD-10 category of F20-F29, and Schizophrenia (F20) was the most common diagnosis (21.75%). The majority of patients in diagnostic categories of F10-F19, F20-F29, F30-F39, F40-F48, G43, and G44, were in age group 21–40 years, while among MR and G40 were of age < 20 years. Looking at the individual diagnostic category, we found that the majority of the cases belonging to the categories of F10-F19 (19.49%), F20-F29 (35.20%), F30-F39 (14.02%), G40 (3.16%), G44 (14%), and others (2.24%) were males. while majority of cases having the diagnosis of F40-F48 (30.8%), MR (13.96%) and G43 (5.54%) were females. Conclusion This study has reflected the pattern of clinical variables of the patients attending the tertiary care center. It has helped us to understand the nature and extent of psychiatric disease burden in the community with an aim to facilitate designing and planning for providing better mental health care to the community as a whole.