Non-psychiatric hospitalization length-of-stay for patients with psychotic disorders: A mixed methods study

Factors associated with long hospitalisation for psychotic disorder patients in an acute ward: Tertiary care hospital

Background

The average length of stay is often used to indicate health system efficiency; shorter stays are associated with reduced costs. In South Africa, mental healthcare expenditure is spent on inpatient care.

Aim

To identify factors associated with a long stay in an acute psychiatric unit.

Setting

A tertiary hospital.

Methods

A case-control study review of inpatients diagnosed with psychotic symptoms was used. Sample was divided into two groups, length of stay (LOS) (LOS greater than 21 days, LOS less than 14 days). Total of 82 patients were divided into short stay group (SSG, n = 23) and long stay group (LSG) (n = 59). A comparison of demographic, clinical and system variables was conducted.

Results

In demographics, LSG had fewer men compared to SSG (78.3%) and differed statistically from LSG with p = 0.05. Long stay groups were older in comparison to SSG with a p = 0.02. Illicit substance use in LSG was 44.1% and statistically less than SSG (73.91%; p = 0.02). A high proportion of LSG had medical or surgical and psychiatric comorbidities (67.8%) compared to SSG (43.5%) (p = 0.04). A total of 95% patients in SSG had family support.

Conclusion

Longer stay was found to be associated with older females with primary psychotic disorders. Comorbidities with less availability of family support were associated with younger males presenting with psychotic symptoms that may be related to illicit substances that respond to rapid stabilisation.

Contribution

Active surveillance of medical comorbidities amongst older female patients is necessary for early liaison services to reduce their length of stay.

Association of Delirium and Depression with Respiratory and Outcome Measures in COVID-19 Inpatients

Delirium (DEL) and depression (DEP) may impair the course and severity of acute respiratory illness. The impact of such syndromes on respiratory and outcome parameters in inpatients with COVID-19 needs clarification. To clarify the relationship between DEL and DEP and respiratory outcome measures, we enrolled 100 inpatients from COVID-19 units of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS of Rome. Participants were divided into those with DEL, DEP, or absence of either delirium or depression (CONT). Delirium severity was assessed with the Neelson and Champagne Confusion Scale (NEECHAM). Psychopathology was assessed with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A), and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Dependent variables include: (a) respiratory parameters, i.e., partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2), oxygen saturation (SpO2), ratio between arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), and fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2); (b) outcome parameters, i.e., duration of hospitalization and number of pharmacological treatments used during the hospitalization. We investigated between-group differences and the relationships between severity of delirium/depression and the dependent variables. Duration of hospitalization was longer for DEL than for either DEP or CONT and for DEP compared to CONT. NEECHAM and HAM-D scores predicted lower PaO2 and PaO2/FiO2 levels in the DEL and DEP groups, respectively. In DEP, BPRS scores positively correlated with duration of hospitalization. Delirium impacted the course of COVID-19 more severely than depression. The mechanisms by which delirium and depression worsen respiratory parameters differ.

Association of Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medicaid Coverage with Length of Stay Among Inpatients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities

BACKGROUND

Inpatients with psychiatric diagnoses often require higher levels of care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and are more likely to be covered by Medicaid, which reimburses SNFs at significantly lower rates than Medicare and commercial payors.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize factors affecting length of stay in inpatients discharged to SNFs.

DESIGN

A retrospective cross-sectional study design using 2016-2018 data from National Inpatient Sample.

PARTICIPANTS

Inpatients aged ≥ 40 who were discharged to SNFs.

EXPOSURES

Primary discharge diagnosis (medical, psychiatric, or substance use) and primary payor.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Length of stay, categorized non-exclusively as >3 days, >7 days, or > 14 days.

RESULTS

Among 9,821,155 inpatient discharges to SNFs between 2016 and 2018, 95.7% had medical primary discharge diagnoses, 3.3% psychiatric diagnoses, and 1.0% substance use diagnoses; Medicare was the most common primary payor (83.3%), followed by private insurance (7.9%), Medicaid (6.6%), and others (2.2%). Median length of stay for all patients was 5.0 days (interquartile range [IQR], 3.0-8.0), 5.0 (IQR, 3.0-8.0) for those with medical diagnoses, 8.0 (IQR, 4.0-15.0) for psychiatric diagnoses, and 5.0 (IQR, 3.0-8.0) for substance use diagnoses. After multivariable adjustment, compared to patients with medical diagnoses, patients with psychiatric diagnoses were more likely to have hospital stays > 3, > 7, and > 14 days, respectively (p < 0.001). Compared to Medicare patients, Medicaid patients were more likely to have hospital stays > 3, > 7, and > 14 days, respectively (p < 0.001). Compared to patients with medical diagnoses, those with psychiatric diagnoses were also more likely to have lengths of stay 1 times, 1.5 times, and 2 times greater than the national geometric mean length of stay for that diagnosis-related group (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients discharged to SNFs after inpatient hospitalization for psychiatric diagnoses and with Medicaid coverage were more likely to have longer lengths of stay than patients with medical diagnoses and those with Medicare coverage, respectively.

Economic strain, parental education and psychotic experiences among college students in the United States: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study 2020

AIM

Socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to psychosis, and much can be learned by examining how various indicators of SES-specifically economic strain and intergenerational transfer of resources-are related to sub-threshold psychotic experiences among college students.

METHODS

Using data from the Healthy Minds Survey (September 2020-December 2020), we used multivariable logistic regression models to examine the associations between five SES indicators and 12-month psychotic experiences, adjusting for age, gender and race/ethnicity. We also examined the count of predictors and psychotic experiences.

RESULTS

Each indicator of economic strain was associated with greater odds of psychotic experiences. In particular, increasing levels of financial stress (current, childhood and pandemic-related) were associated with greater odds of psychotic experiences in a dose-response fashion. Food insecurity was associated with double the odds of psychotic experiences. In terms of intergenerational transfer of resources, having either one or no parents who attended college was associated with significantly greater odds of having psychotic experiences, when compared with having both parents who attended college. Examining all predictors in the same model, only childhood and current financial stress and food insecurity were significantly associated with psychotic experiences. The count of predictors was significantly associated with greater odds of having psychotic experiences in a dose-dependent fashion.

CONCLUSIONS

Among college students, economic strain and intergenerational transfer of resources were associated with recent psychotic experiences, highlighting the importance of economic interventions targeting young adults to influence risk for psychosis.

Study on clinical characteristics and related factors of schizophrenic patients with intestinal obstruction

BACKGROUND

There are still few studies on the clinical characteristics and related risk factors of schizophrenia patients with intestinal obstruction. Our aim is to explore the clinical characteristics and related risk factors of schizophrenia patients with intestinal obstruction.

METHODS

This study focused on schizophrenia patients with intestinal obstruction who were hospitalized in the psychiatric department of a hospital in Wuhan from January 2007 to December 2020 as the main research object. We intend to retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics and related risk factors of schizophrenia patients with intestinal obstruction.

RESULTS

In the 1937 persons with schizophrenia included in this study, 97 patients were complicated with intestinal obstruction, and the incidence was 5.01%.The results of the study showed that patients with age ≥ 60 years old, visiting time ≥ 24 h, hospital stay ≥ 90 days, history of abdominal surgery, course of disease ≥ 5 years, male, and patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are prone to intestinal obstruction; Logistic multiple regression analysis showed that the related risk factors of schizophrenia patients with intestinal obstruction mainly included the patient's age, visiting time, length of hospital stay, history of abdominal surgery, course of disease and gender.

CONCLUSION

The older the age, the longer the hospital stay, the longer the course of the disease, the history of previous surgery, and the male schizophrenia who do not see a doctor within 24 h of the onset, the risk of intestinal obstruction is higher, and it is easy to be misdiagnosed and even life-threatening.