PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS OF UROLOGY

A psychiatric investigation of 342 patients who were attending the Hull Royal Infirmary urological outpatient clinic in 1977 was conducted. The 114 male patients, 159 female patients, and 59 couples of whom only the male partner was investigated were interviewed personally and were given the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. A wide spectrum of problems was revealed. It was learned that psychological complications following vasectomy can be eliminated almost totally by careful counseling. It was found that patients with lower urinary tract complaints scored higher on the Hamilton Scale than those with upper tract complaints.