Somatic illness in psychiatric in-patients

Psychiatric in-patients at a general hospital were screened for somatic illness. It was discovered that 32% of these patients had somatic diseases that had been overlooked previously. A percentage of 75 was found in patients of sixty years or older. The relevance of the applied physical examinations for the detection of unknown somatic disease is discussed. Furthermore, some recommendations are given for the routine physical examination of psychiatric in-patients.