Fundamentals of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry

Many patients admitted to a general hospital may have one or more coexisting psychiatric conditions that require attention to facilitate their recovery. When called to assess and recommend treatment, the psychiatry consultant may discover they are dealing with a disorder that, although at first was thought to be psychiatric, is very likely the manifestation or consequence of a condition that has psychiatric and neurologic components. More important, the presenting signs and symptoms may require a comprehensive and learned neurological evaluation. The editors of Fundamentals of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry: Neuropsychiatry have encountered perplexing cases at the interface of psychiatry and neurology and finding the resources to help guide and inform their assessments was not easy. Fundamentals of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry: Neuropsychiatry was born as a response to these challenges; as a contribution to all psychiatric consultants who seek to improve their neurological assessment skills, and those who want to better understand the conditions, nuances, and complexities defined by neuropsychiatry. This book will be a useful addition to any CL psychiatrist's library; it will be equally helpful for Consultation Liaison Psychiatry fellows, Psychiatry residents, general Psychiatrists who are interested in CL Psychiatry or who perform psychiatric consultations from time to time, medical students on their CL Psychiatry clerkships, and psychiatric nurse practitioners. This book comprises twelve chapters written by recognized experts in psychiatry, psychology, neurology, and anaesthesiology. The first chapter, "Neurocognitive and Neurological Examination, provides an especially detailed discussion and explanation of this topic in a highly readable and accessible format. An entire chapter, "Neurological Conditions, provides state-of-the-art discourse about common neurological conditions including cerebrovascular diseases, epilepsy and related disorders (including nonepileptic seizures), movement disorders, and data about less common but equally important conditions such as lupus cerebritis, multiple sclerosis, and prion diseases. The chapter, "Catatonia, Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome, and Serotonin Syndrome, skilfully addresses these conditions from the CL consultant's perspective: as syndromes with motor manifestations that have potentially life-threatening consequences, and discusses their epidemiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. We include a chapter, "Infections of the Central Nervous System, in this volume because infectious diseases are common causes of neuropsychiatric symptoms encountered by consultation liaison psychiatrists, and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is used as an example of the depth and breadth of neuropsychiatric complications caused by an infectious agent. Although many chapters in both volumes include a focused discussion of medication management, we include "Pharmacotherapeutics, in this volume as a detailed, readable, and up-to-date discussion of general pharmacological approaches every consultation liaison psychiatrist working at the interface of psychiatry and neurology should know. The chapter, "Electroconvulsive Therapy and Other Related Therapies, discusses the use and potential life-saving benefits of ECT for critically ill medical patients. Chapters on addiction and physical medicine and rehabilitation are logical additions to a CL volume focused on neuropsychiatry because so many neuropsychiatric conditions may be the direct or indirect consequence of a substance use disorder or are treated in rehabilitation hospitals or centres. The book contains more than 40 tables. Each chapter includes five multiple choice study questions with annotated answers. As a stand-alone reference, this book will fill the gap in many CL consultants' libraries where a neuropsychiatry text targeting non-neurologists should reside. When paired with its sister text, Fundamentals of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry: Principles and Practice, these two volumes will empower readers to more precisely and comprehensively assess and treat medical or surgical patients suffering with one or more psychiatric conditions that may be adversely affecting their health and recovery.