Psychiatric consultations in rheumatology: a review of 100 cases

Consultation-liaison psychiatry has contributed much to our understanding of the psychological complications of physical illness, both in general responses to illness and in particular problems related to specific diseases. We reviewed 100 psychiatric consultations from a specialized rheumatology unit. Eighty percent of the consultations consisted of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (36%), rheumatoid arthritis (29%), and fibrositis (15%). The majority of S.L.E. patients had organic brain syndromes related to central nervous system involvement or corticosteroids, while the majority of rheumatoid arthritis patients had a depressive diagnosis. Fibrositis patients showed no specific psychiatric diagnosis. Some future areas of research for consultation-liaison psychiatry in this area are suggested.