Problems in the recognition and treatment of patients with dual diagnoses.
BACKGROUND
This study was to find if the dually diagnosed in a teaching psychiatric hospital were being adequately identified and treated.


METHODS
The records of 200 adult inpatients were reviewed for psychiatric diagnoses, the presence of a history of substance abuse, and the kinds of treatment rendered those patients.


RESULTS
Forty-three percent of the patients admitted were found to have a history of substance abuse, but 31.4% of these had a history of substance abuse in the record without a formal diagnosis. Major depression (26.6%) and schizophrenia (18.7%) were the most frequent diagnoses. Half of the patients received no documented treatment for substance abuse. The most common intervention was education by the nursing staff.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a clear need for better recognition and treatment of the dually diagnosed patient.
Milling
R N
RN
Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine.
Faulkner
L R
LR
Craig
J M
JM
D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry) / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation