A quarter of century after: The changing ecology of psychiatric emergency services

This study aims to survey the current epidemiology and the changing ecology of emergency psychiatry services in Taiwan.MethodsA total of 804 psychiatry consultations were initiated at the ED during the 1-year period from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 in a medical center in northern Taiwan. Clinical data of gender, age, chief complaints, tentative diagnoses, dispositions, and ED staying hours were compared to a previous report in the same hospital in 1988.ResultsPsychiatry consultation was initiated in 0.72% of all ED visits (804/111,923). Among these visits, females were 1.73 times of the males. The most common chief complaints were psychosis/mania (33.5%) and suicide/self-harm (33.2%), followed by homicide/violence (12.8%) and anxiety/depression (10.3%). Top tentative diagnoses were schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders (31.3%), trauma- and stressor-related disorders (17.5%), bipolar disorders (15.9%), and depressive disorders (14.2%). Compared to 1988, there are three major changes: (1) over-representation of female patients, (2) an increase of “neurosis” patients, and (3) an increase of suicide/self-harm as chief problem.DiscussionThis study portrays the current epidemiology and changing ecology of psychiatric emergency in Taiwan. The increase of neurotic and suicide/self-harm patients requires more services and clinical training in managing common mental disorders and suicide in the ED.

Source: Asia-Pacific Psychiatry - September 12, 2021 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Wen ‐Hao Chen, Ming H. Hsieh, Shih‐Cheng Liao, Chen‐Chung Liu, Chih‐Min Liu, Chi‐Shin Wu, Yi‐Ting Lin, Tzung‐Jeng Hwang, Yi‐Ling Chien Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research