Consultation-liaison psychiatry in China

Ji, Jianlin; Ye, Chenyu

It is not uncommon for patients with physical problems to have a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. The psychological problems detected at organ transplantation centers are particularly prominent. Despite a relatively large number of mental health studies related to transplants conducted in China in recent years, the quality of most such studies is quite low: among 10 such studies reported in the last decade only one [40] was conducted by a psychiatrist (a descriptive summary); the results of the studies are almost entirely based on the self-rating depression scale (SDS) and/or the self-rating anxiety scales (SAS); the studies either lacked controls or selected inappropriate controls; and there is inadequate description and standardization of the psychological intervention provided. Therefore, any conclusions drawn from such studies must be interpreted with caution. With few exceptions, studies on the psychological status of patients following treatment for malignant tumors suffer from the same limitations. However, recently Ye and colleagues carried out a well standardized study among patients receiving a heart transplantation [41] and there has been a well-designed study on the nursing of patients with malignant tumors conducted by a psychiatrist. [42] So there is some hope that the quality of research in the area will improve in the future.