Abstract
Pediatric consultation-liaison (CL) psychiatry focuses on the treatment of mental health difficulties in physically ill children. This article focuses on three diagnoses that a pediatric CL psychiatrist commonly encounters: delirium, somatic symptom and related disorders (SSRD), and pediatric medical traumatic stress (PMTS). Delirium is an acute cerebral dysfunction secondary to an organic cause and can present with agitation, sleep disruption, disorientation, inattention, perceptual disturbances or apathy, and withdrawal. The management of delirium involves the treatment of underlying medical causes by environmental modifications and pharmacological strategies. SSRDs present with medically unexplained symptoms in which physical examination and laboratory testing do not justify a diagnosis of a known medical illness. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has the most evidence for the treatment of SSRDs, whereas pharmacological interventions have insufficient evidence in improving core symptoms of SSRDs. PMTS is defined as a set of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in response to pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures, and invasive or frightening treatment experiences. Brief, focused cognitive-behavioral strategies delivered in a family-centered approach can prevent or reduce symptoms. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2021;51(10):473–481.]
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