Butler, M;
Scott, F;
Stanton, B;
Rogers, J;
(2021)
Psychiatrists should investigate their patients less.
BJPsych Bulletin
pp. 1-4.
10.1192/bjb.2021.125.
(In press).
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Abstract
Psychiatrists often order investigations such as blood tests, neuroimaging and electroencephalograms for their patients. Rationales include ruling out 'organic' causes of psychiatric presentations, providing baseline parameters before starting psychotropic medications, and screening for general cardiometabolic health. Hospital protocols often recommend an extensive panel of blood tests on admission to a psychiatric ward. In this Against the Stream article, we argue that many of these investigations are at best useless and at worst harmful: the yield of positive findings that change clinical management is extremely low; special investigations are a poor substitute for a targeted history and examination; and incidental findings may cause anxiety and further unwarranted investigation. Cognitive and cultural reasons why over-investigation continues are discussed. We conclude by encouraging a more targeted approach guided by a thorough bedside clinical assessment.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Psychiatrists should investigate their patients less |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1192/bjb.2021.125 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2021.125 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Copyright Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. |
| Keywords: | Service users, cost-effectiveness, ethics, imaging, in-patient treatment |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10140011 |
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