title: Depression in the general hospital.
abstract: Depression in the general hospital is a challenging arena for nursing. Diagnosing depression tends to be difficult because of the overlapping somatic presentations of depression and medical illness. In working with this patient population, a thorough physical examination and diagnostic evaluation need to be completed to rule out pre-existing medical diseases and medications that could be inducing the depressive symptoms. Usually, medically ill patients are diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood that responds well to a combination of supportive psychotherapy and antidepressant therapy.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Neese
mesh_terms: D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D009733:Nursing Diagnosis; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs