Introduction: Reconsidering Psychiatry in the Emergency Department

Feasibility of Peer-Delivered Suicide Safety Planning in the Emergency Department: Results From a Pilot Trial

OBJECTIVE

The emergency department (ED) is an important site for suicide prevention efforts, and safety planning has been identified as a best practice for suicide prevention among ED patients at increased suicide risk. However, few ED clinicians are prepared to assess suicide risk or guide patients in the creation of safety plans. This study was a pilot randomized controlled trial of the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of safety planning by individuals with lived experience of suicide attempt or of severe suicidal ideation but without medical training (i.e., peers) in the ED.

METHODS

Patients at risk for suicide in a general ED were randomly assigned to receive peer-delivered or mental health provider–delivered safety planning. Intervention feasibility measures included ED length of stay, safety plan completeness, and safety plan quality. Acceptability measures included patient satisfaction. Preliminary effects were assessed as number of ED returns within the 3 months after the ED visit.

RESULTS

Data from 31 participants were available for analysis. Compared with participants with provider-delivered safety planning, participants with peer-delivered safety planning had similar ED lengths of stay, higher safety plan completeness, and higher safety plan quality. Acceptability of the safety planning process was similar for the two groups. Compared with participants receiving provider-delivered safety planning, participants receiving peer-delivered planning had significantly fewer ED visits during the subsequent 3 months than during the 3 months preceding the ED visit.

CONCLUSIONS

Peer-delivered safety planning is feasible and acceptable and may result in fewer return ED visits. These findings provide preliminary support for peer-delivered safety planning in the ED.

Design and Implementation of an Agitation Code Response Team in the Emergency Department

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Agitation, defined as excessive psychomotor activity leading to violent and aggressive behavior, is becoming more prevalent in the emergency department (ED) amidst a strained behavioral health system. Team-based interventions have demonstrated promise in promoting de-escalation, with the hope of minimizing the need for invasive techniques, like physical restraints. This study aimed to evaluate an interprofessional code response team intervention to manage agitation in the ED with the goal of decreasing physical restraint use.

METHODS

This quality improvement study occurred over 3 phases, representing stepwise rollout of the intervention: (1) preimplementation (phase I) to establish baseline outcome rates; (2) design and administrative support (phase II) to conduct training and protocol design; and (3) implementation (phase III) of the code response team. An interrupted time-series analysis was used to compare trends between phases to evaluate the primary outcome of physical restraint orders occurring during the study period.

RESULTS

Within the 634,578 ED visits over a 5-year period, restraint use significantly declined sequentially over the 3 phases (1.1%, 0.9%, and 0.8%, absolute change -0.3% between phases I and III, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.4% to 0.3%), which corresponded to a 27.3% proportionate decrease in restraint rates between phases I and III. For the interrupted time-series analysis, there was a significantly decreasing slope in biweekly restraints in phase II compared to phase I (slope, -0.05 restraints per 1,000 ED visits per 2-week period, 95% CI -0.07 to -0.03), which was sustained in an incremental fashion in phase III (slope, -0.05, 95% CI -0.07 to -0.02).

CONCLUSION

With the implementation of a structured agitation code response team intervention combined with design and administrative support, a decreased rate of physical restraint use occurred over a 5-year period. Results suggest that investment in organizational change, along with interprofessional collaboration during the management of agitated patients in the ED, can lead to sustained reductions in the use of an invasive and potentially harmful measure on patients.

Repeat presentations to the emergency department for non-fatal suicidal behaviour: Perceptions of patients

Presentations to emergency departments (EDs) for non-fatal suicidal behaviour (NFSB) are increasing in Australia and overseas. Our understanding of the factors contributing to this trend remains unclear. In this qualitative phenomenological study, we explored patient perceptions of their ED experience and the interventions provided. The study group comprised 10 adults who had had 3 or more presentations to the ED in a 12-week period for NFSB. Individual interviews were conducted in person with participants and transcribed verbatim. Three broad themes emerged from analysis of the transcripts: ED - a safety net; 'treatment - what treatment!'; and maintaining ED dependence. The findings highlight a failure to understand the needs of those with NFSB and establish better ED treatment strategies and models of aftercare for this sub-group of patients. The findings have implications for mental health nurses working with consumers in the ED and in broader case management roles.

Managing Delirium and Agitation in the Older Emergency Department Patient: The ADEPT Tool

Agitation and delirium are common reasons for older adults to seek care in the emergency department (ED). Providing care for this population in the ED setting can be challenging for emergency physicians. There are several knowledge translation gaps in how to best screen older adults for these conditions and how to manage them. A working group of subject-matter experts convened to develop an easy-to-use, point-of-care tool to assist emergency physicians in the care of these patients. The tool is designed to serve as a resource to address the knowledge translation and implementation gaps that exist in the field. The purpose of this article is present and explain the Assess, Diagnose, Evaluate, Prevent, and Treat tool. Participants were identified with expertise in emergency medicine, geriatric emergency medicine, geriatrics, and psychiatry. Background literature reviews were performed before the in-person meeting in key areas: delirium, dementia, and agitation in older adults. Participants worked electronically before and after an in-person meeting to finalize development of the tool in 2017. Subsequent work was performed electronically in the following months and additional expert review sought. EDs are an important point of care for older adults. Behavioral changes in older adults can be a manifestation of underlying medical problems, mental health concerns, medication adverse effects, substance abuse, or dementia. Five core principles were identified by the group that can help ensure adequate and thorough care for older adults with agitation or delirium: assess, diagnose, evaluate, prevent, and treat. This article provides background for and explains the importance of these principles related to the care of older adults with agitation. It is important for emergency physicians to recognize the spectrum of underlying causes of behavioral changes and have the tools to screen older adults for those causes, and methods to treat the underlying causes and ameliorate their symptoms.

Opportunities for Research in Mental Health Emergencies: Executive Summary and Methodology

Introduction

Despite the ever-increasing numbers of mental health patients presenting to United States emergency departments, there are large gaps in knowledge about acute care of the behavioral health patient. To address this important problem, the Coalition on Psychiatric Emergencies convened a research consensus conference in December 2016 consisting of clinical researchers, clinicians from emergency medicine, psychiatry and psychology, and representatives from governmental agencies and patient advocacy groups.

Methods

Participants used a standardized methodology to select and rank research questions in the order of importance to both researchers and patients.

Results

Three working groups (geriatrics, substance use disorders, and psychosis) reached consensus on 26 questions within their respective domains. These questions are summarized in this document.

Conclusion

The research consensus conference is the first of its kind to include non-clinicians in helping identify knowledge gaps in behavioral emergencies. It is hoped that these questions will prove useful to prioritize future research within the specialty.

Down the Rabbit Hole: Emergency Department Medical Clearance of Patients with Psychiatric or Behavioral Emergencies

Patients presenting with behavior or psychiatric complaints may have an underlying medical disorder causing or worsening their symptoms. Misdiagnosing a medical illness as psychiatric can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. A thorough history and physical examination, including mental status, are important to identify these causes and guide further testing. Laboratory and ancillary testing should be guided by what is indicated based on clinical assessment. Certain patient populations and signs and symptoms have a higher association with organic causes of behavioral complaints. Many medical problems can present with or exacerbate psychiatric symptoms, and a thorough medical assessment is imperative.

Patients' experiences of psychiatric care in emergency departments: A secondary analysis

The number of psychiatric emergencies presenting to EDs in the United States continues to rise. Evidence suggests that psychiatric ED care encounters can have less than optimal outcomes, and result in stress for providers. The primary aim of this study is to describe the perceptions of ED visits by persons experiencing emotional distress, identifying themes among these that may guide nursing interventions that minimize stress and optimize outcomes in the treatment of psychiatric emergency. This secondary analysis used a qualitative, phenomenological method to analyze a de-identified data set originally collected in a study of experiences of psychiatric emergency in a community based crisis management setting. Findings consist of three major themes: "Emergency rooms are cold and clinical", "They talk to you like you're a crazy person", and "You get put away against your will". An overarching theme through all three is the influence of RN communication, both positive and negative, on patient perceptions of their ED encounters. While nurse-patient communication is basic to all areas of practice, it may be a low priority in the urgent and chaotic context of the ED. However, our findings suggest that increased attention to timely, empathic and validating communication and openness to the patient's reality may decrease severity of symptoms, optimize outcomes, and decrease provider stress.