Conference paper
PSYCHIATRY IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM: CLINICAL EXPERIENCE IN PERUGIA
Serena Anastasi
; Division of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Perugia, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, Perugia, Italy
Paolo Eusebi
; Neurologic Clinic, Department of Medicine, University of Perugia, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, Perugia, Italy
Roberto Quartesan
; Division of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, School of Specialization in Psychiatry, University of Perugia, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, Perugia, Italy
Abstract
Background: We examined all psychiatric consultations carried out over 3 years at the Emergency Room (ER) of the hospital of
Perugia, with the aim of describing the epidemiologic characteristics of patients with any psychiatric illness and their management.
We also assessed the distribution of psychiatric emergencies over this period of observation.
Subjects and methods: We recruited patients consecutively admitted to the ER, between June the 20th 2011 and June the 20th
2014, for which a psychiatric consultation was required. We analysed socio-demographic and clinical data as well as the type of
long-range plan after discharge. Continuous variables were presented as means and standard deviations. Categorical variables were
presented as number and percentages. For comparing the means we used the Student's t-test. For analyzing the association between
categorical variables we performed Pearson’s chi-squared test or the Fisher's exact test where appropriate. We considered
significant test results with p<0.05. The post-hoc analyses were carried out by means of standardized Pearson residuals, in order to
assess the significance of the cell-wise divergences from homogeneity. Spearman’s correlations were computed for reasons for a
psychiatric consultation request across months. Multinomial logistics regression model was used for analyzing the variability of the
reasons for the admission to the ER for the 12 months. Statistical analyses were performed using the R software v 3.1.
Results: Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders were the most represented. The most frequent approach to patients
with psychiatric complaints did not imply the use of psychopharmacological treatments or coercive interventions. No particular
seasonality of psychopathology was observed.
Conclusions: ERs may represent the place where the first psychiatric visit occurs and a point of reference for the chronic
patients. It can also represent an opportunity for further examination of organic comorbidity.
Keywords
psychiatric emergencies; consultation-liaison psychiatry; emergency room
Hrčak ID:
265711
URI
Publication date:
5.11.2014.
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