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Abstract

BackgroundConsultation liaison psychiatry as a subspecialty is defined as the area of clinical psychiatry that encompasses clinical understanding, teaching and research activities of psychiatrists in the non-psychiatric divisions of a general hospital. The aim of this study was to access clinical profile of intensive care unit (ICU) referral availing consultation-liaison (CL) psychiatry services in a tertiary care hospital.Materials & MethodsThe study population comprised all referrals from intensive care unit to consultation liaison psychiatry services over a period of 6months. In a semistructured proforma, demographic profile, reason for referral and psychiatric diagnosis were recorded and analysed using descriptive statistics.ResultsA total of 36 patients were referred to consultation liaison psychiatry for evaluation. The most common reason for referral was abnormal behaviour 16(44.4%) followed by suicide or self-harm 8(22.2%) and substance use history 6(16.7%). The most common psychiatric diagnosis was delirium 21(58.3%). Majority of referrals were from medical intensive care unit (MICU) 26(72.2%).ConclusionDelirium was the most common diagnosis in the intensive care settings while as abnormal behaviour was the most common reason of referral.