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Diagnostic Classification of First-Ever Admissions to Chainama Hills Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

G. G. C. Rwegellera  and
C. C. Mambwe
G. G. C. Rwegellera
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, University of Zambia, PO Box RW 110, Lusaka, Zambia
C. C. Mambwe
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, University of Zambia, PO Box RW 110, Lusaka, Zambia
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Summary

All new female indigenous Zambian patients (180) admitted to Chainama Hills Hospital from 1 June 1974 to 31 May 1975 were seen by the authors and given a firm diagnosis before they were started on treatment. The diagnostic classification of these patients was compared to that of a similar group of patients (163) admitted to the same hospital from 1 June 1973 to 31 May 1974. Forty-two per cent of the patients in 1974/75 were given a diagnosis of depression as compared to 26 per cent in 1973/74; 14 per cent of those in 1974/75 had a diagnosis of schizophrenia as compared to 21 per cent in 1973/74, and 3 per cent of the patients in 1974/75 fell into the group of ‘not yet diagnosed’ as opposed to 27 per cent in 1973/74. The ‘acute transient psychoses' were noted for their relative rarity in the two groups. A plea is made for all psychiatrists working in Africa to give diagnosis the importance it deserves.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 130 , Issue 6 , June 1977 , pp. 573 - 580
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977 

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