Depression: the forgotten diagnosis among hospitalized adults

Depression, one of the most frequent of all medical disorders, is an illness that often concomitantly occurs with many other diseases in hospitalized adult patients. Sadly, overwhelming evidence suggests that comorbid depression is commonly misdiagnosed, undertreated, or not diagnosed at all when present in critically ill patients. While safe, modern, and cost-effective treatments are available for treating this disorder, comorbid depression remains a silent and unseen illness adversely affecting patient outcomes. With an understanding that this pernicious underlying illness frequently exists in hospitalized adults, nurses can identify the symptoms and patterns of comorbid depression, thereby being extremely effective in decreasing the morbidity and mortality that often accompanies this forgotten diagnosis.