PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS IN BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

Objective: To identify the psychiatric illnesses in patients with hematological/oncological disorders encountered during blood and bone marrow transplantation. Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Bismillah Taqee Institute of Health Sciences and Blood Diseases Centre, Karachi from December 2002 to December 2005. Patients and Methods: All consecutive patients, aged 15 years and above, who fulfilled inclusion and exclusion criteria and underwent blood and bone marrow transplantation, were enrolled in this study. Psychiatric assessment comprised of a semi-structured interview based on Present Status Examination (PSE). The psychiatric diagnosis was made on the basis of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) system of classification devised by W.H.O. Results: Eighty patients, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, were inducted in this study. Thirty (37.5%) cases were found to have psychiatric disorders. Out of the total, 60 (75%) were males and 20 (25%) females. Adjustment disorder was the most frequent diagnosis (n=12), followed by major depression (n=7). Rest of the diagnoses made were generalized anxiety disorder, acute psychotic disorder, delirium and depressive psychosis. Conclusion: High psychiatric morbidity associated with blood and bone marrow transplantation was observed. It indicates the importance of psychiatric intervention during the isolation period of BMT as well as pre-transplant psychiatric assessment and counseling regarding procedure.