[Interferon α therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection: biopsychosocial consequences]

Interferon α Therapy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection: Quality of Life and Depression

Health-related quality of life was examined in 49 patients with hepatitis C virus with no psychiatric history who received interferon (IFN)-α treatment. Quality of life was assessed at baseline, at 3-time points during IFN-α therapy and at 1-6 month follow-up, using SF-36. Hepatitis C virus patients showed poorer physical functioning and better social and mental functioning than a normal population. Significant decreases from baseline SF-36 scores were observed at an early phase of treatment. Six patients developed major depression during IFN-α treatment. At baseline, they had reported more bodily pain than patients who did not develop depression during treatment. Planned contrasts revealed that worsening in some dimensions of quality of life at 2 months was greater in depressed than in non-depressed patients. Results suggest that depressive symptoms should be accurately monitored during IFN-α therapy even in patients with no psychiatric history, especially if they present with bodily pain.

[Areas of work of a biopsychosocial oriented psychiatric consultation-liaison service: results from a prospective 2-year survey]

BACKGROUND

Since the establishment of the European Association of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatics in 1992, C/L psychiatry in European countries has been increasingly recognized as a subspecialty of clinical psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine. The study explored the areas of work of the biopsychosocial oriented psychiatric consultation - liaison (C/L) service at the university hospital LKH Graz (Austria).

METHODS

We conducted two prospective 1-year surveys over two years of observation. Survey I comprised 1,505 consecutive new consultations, and the more recent Survey II extended over 1,478 consecutive new referrals to our C/L service. Psychiatric referrals were analyzed with regard to demographic characteristics, referring departments, principal reasons for referral, diagnostic characteristics, and intervention patterns.

RESULTS

In both surveys, the most common patient to be referred was a middle-aged woman. Internal medicine consistently accounted for almost one third of all referrals, followed by neurology. The most prominent reasons for biopsychosocial referral were any signs of abnormal mood, behaviour, psychotic symptoms or cognitive impairments. The most common mental disorders according to ICD-10 were adjustment disorders, depressive disorders, and delirium. Psychopharmacotherapy and combined psycho- and pharmacotherapy were the most frequent actions in both surveys, followed by biopsychosocial evaluation pretransplant.

CONCLUSIONS

To ameliorate the provision of biopsychosocial care for general hospital patients, the need for specially planned biopsychosocial C/L services with equal involvement of specialists in medical psychology, C/L psychiatry, and clinical psychology should be underscored.