Psychiatric outpatient services in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe

A prospective survey was undertaken of 104 consecutive Black patients newly referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic in a general hospital. Schizophrenia, acute brain syndromes and depression emerged as the major diagnostic categories, comprising almost two-thirds of the patients. The differentiation between acute brain syndromes and schizophrenia proved to be particularly difficult, and the outpatient management of patients with significant thought disorders or clouding of consciousness is not recommended. The diagnostic features of depression, on the other hand, are fairly reliable and depressives can usually be managed on an outpatient basis, which may save a large number of admissions to both medical and psychiatric beds.