Background: Study of referral pattern to psychiatry helps us to understand the type of patients and the rate of referral from individual departments. It also helps us to understand the need for consultation liaison services (CLP) thereby strengthening the General Hospital Psychiatric Units (GHPU) Aim: To study the referral pattern to psychiatry in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: All referrals to the department of psychiatry for a period of two months were included in the study. Sociodemographic details, reasons for referral and the department from which referred were noted. The Psychiatric diagnosis was made according to the ICD-10 criteria. The overall referral rate to psychiatry and referral from individual departments was noted and descriptive statistics was applied to represent the same. Results: The overall referral rate to psychiatry was found to be 1.17% with majority being from medical specialities (62%). The most common reasons for referral have been suicidal attempts and most common psychiatric disorder diagnosed among referred has been delirium. Conclusion: The low levels of referrals to psychiatry emphasize the need for better consultation liaison services.

BACKGROUND Corona virus disease or the (COVID 19) has caused mental health problems in the general population, in people infected and hospitalised for the disease and in patients who have recovered from the disease physically but continue to suffer from lingering mental health problems. Studies have shown stress, depression, and anxiety in one third of the survivors. Similarly post-traumatic stress disorder has been reported to be around 13 % in the survivors of COVID 19. In this study, we wanted to assess the psychological symptoms in the survivors of Covid 19 patients, one month post discharge and also assess various factors associated with the same. METHODS A cross sectional telephonic survey of the patients one month following discharge was done to understand the psychological problems. Sociodemographic data was recorded on a semi structured proforma, whereas psychological distress was recorded on patient health questionnaire - 4 (PHQ - 4) and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was screened for by the impact of event scale revised (IES - R). RESULTS Of the 200 patients evaluated, 46.8 % scored above 20 on the impact of event scale which was considered to be a positive screen for post-traumatic stress disorder. Moderate psychological distress was reported by 10.5 % and severe by 7.5 % as measured by PHQ - 4. Being married, having other family members effected by the infection and deaths in the family were some of the factors that were significantly associated with psychological distress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. CONCLUSIONS Continued mental health support needs to be extended to members who are considered to have recovered and discharged from the hospital following the COVID 19 infection. KEY WORDS COVID 19, Psychological Symptoms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Introduction: The novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) which started in China has now spread across the world. Many measures to contain the pandemic are being employed like hospitalization of patients tested positive, quarantine of contacts, and social distancing. The consequent social isolation and the uncertainty of the disease has led to psychological distress. Aims and Objectives: The aim was to study the psychological distress and its associated factors in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in a designated COVID center where patients tested positive were admitted from all over the state. A total of 222 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were screened using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 and those who screened positive had their diagnosis confirmed by using the International Classification of Disease 10 criteria. Results: A total of 222 patients were screened of which 22.1% showed distress, 12.6% showed mild distress, and 9.5% moderate distress. Depression criteria were met by 5.5% and 3.2% had generalized anxiety disorder. Factors significantly associated with distress were deaths in the family and duration of hospitalization, whereas family members affected with COVID-19 were inversely related to psychological distress. Conclusion: Having a number of family members affected and simultaneously admitted in the same hospital seems to have acted as a buffer against psychological distress. However, deaths in the family due to COVID-19 and long duration of hospitalization were found to be factors associated with psychological distress. Efforts should be made to treat not only the physical health but also address the psychological distress in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.