Frequency Of Psychiatric Illnesses And Opinion/Vantage Of Patients Attending Neurology Out-Patient Department.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the Frequency of psychiatric illnesses in patients with neurological conditions, and to take their opinion about psychiatric disorders. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted from June 1 to August 30, 2021, at the Neurology Outpatient Department of Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan, and comprised patients of either gender aged 12-70 years from among those visiting the outpatient clinic. Data was collected through interviews and the 41-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS: Of the 201 patients, 160(79.6%) were females and 41(20.4%) were males. The overall mean age was 34.5+/- 9.38 years. Primary neurological problem was headache 119(59.2%). Overall, 155(77.2%) patients met the criteria of psychiatric disorders; 55(27.4%) anxiety, 37(19.4%) had depressive disorder, 42(20.8%) mixed anxiety depressive disorder, and 19(9.5%) had other psychiatric illnesses. Also, 101(50.2%) patients lacked awareness about psychiatry illnesses, 35(17.4%) had fear of stigma, and 28(13.9%) had misconceptions. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of psychiatric disorders among those visiting the neurology outpatient department was high, and was associated with negative views about such illnesses.

Migraine in physicians and final year medical students: A cross-sectional insight into prevalence, self-awareness, and knowledge from Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Despite its high prevalence, migraine remains underdiagnosed worldwide. A significant reason is the knowledge gap in physicians regarding diagnostic criteria, clinical features, and other clinical aspects of migraine. AIM: To measure the knowledge deficit in physicians and medical students and to assess the prevalence of migraine in the same population. METHODS: An online questionnaire was developed and distributed among physicians and final year medical students on duty in various medical and surgical specialties of Allied and DHQ Hospitals, Faisalabad, between October 2018 and October 2019. Inclusion criteria were public practicing physicians who experience headaches, while those who never experienced headaches were excluded. Different questions assessed respondents on their knowledge of triggers, diagnosis, management, and prophylaxis of the migraine headache. They were asked to diagnose themselves using embedded ICHD-3 diagnostic criteria for different types of migraine. Graphs, tables, and figures were made using Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Visio, and data analysis was done in R Studio 1.4. RESULTS: We had 213 respondents and 175 fulfilled inclusion criteria, with 99 (52%), 58 (30%) and 12 (6.3%) belonging to specialties of medicine, surgery, and others, respectively. Both genders were symmetrically represented (88 male and 87 female). Fifty-two (24.4%) of our 213 respondents were diagnosed with migraine, with 26 (50%) being aware of it. Females had higher prevalence among study participants (n = 28, 32.2%) compared to males (n = 20, 22.7%, P = 0.19). A majority (62%) of subjects never consulted any doctor for their headache. Similarly, a majority (62%) either never heard or did not remember the diagnostic criteria of migraine. Around 38% falsely believed that having any type of aura is essential for diagnosing migraine. The consultation rate was 37% (n = 65), and migraineurs were significantly more likely to have consulted a doctor, and a neurologist in particular (P < 0.001). Consulters and migraineurs fared better in the knowledge of diagnostic aspects of the disease than their counterparts. There was no significant difference in other knowledge aspects between consulters versus non-consulters and migraineurs versus non-migraineurs. CONCLUSION: Critical knowledge gaps exist between physicians and medical students, potentially contributing to misdiagnosis and mismanagement of migraine.