Patients with psychiatric disorders are found globally, with a recent global burden of disease estimate that mental illness accounted for 32.4% of years lived with disability and 13.0% of disability-adjusted life-years.
The American College of Emergency Physicians just published a methodological rigorous clinical policy entitled “Critical Issues in the Diagnosis and Management of the Adult Psychiatric Patient in the Emergency Department.”
One question they sought to answer was “In the alert adult patient presenting to the ED with acute psychiatric symptoms, should routine laboratory tests be used to identify contributory medical conditions (nonpsychiatric disorders)?”
Their assessment was: “Do not routinely order laboratory testing on patients with acute psychiatric symptoms. Use medical history, previous psychiatric diagnoses, and physician examination to guide testing.” This was a Level C recommendation, based upon the quality of the research.
Bottom Line: Current literature does not support routinely ordering laboratory testing on patients with acute psychiatric symptoms. However, the quality of the evidence was not strong and local clinical context should be considered.
References
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(15)00505-2/abstractege of
