A Spanish experience of DSM III in a Consultation-Liaison psychiatric service.
The authors applied the DSM III diagnosis to 500 patients seen at a Consultation-Liaison psychiatric service. Compared with similar American studies there was a lower frequency of adjustment and somatoform disorders and a higher proportion of drug abuse cases. Several possible reasons for these differences are mentioned. Although the use of DSM III has clear advantages in a General Hospital context, important difficulties were found: the use of some diagnostic criteria, the absence of a code to relate Axes I and III, the poor systemization of scores in social Axes IV and V and the lack of a specific category for attempted suicide are but a few of the difficulties encountered. Finally, some modifications of DSM III are suggested in order to improve its clinical usefulness.
D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D013030:Spain; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology