Police referrals at the psychiatric emergency service in Taiwan

Police-referred psychiatric emergency presentations during the first and second wave of COVID-19 in Berlin, Germany: a retrospective chart review

BACKGROUND

Literature on psychiatric emergency services (PES) presentations during the COVID-19 pandemic showed heterogeneous results regarding patients brought in by police (BIBP). This is the first study primarily focusing on patients BIBP in a PES during the COVID-19-period.

METHODS

Case documentation records during the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a PES in Berlin, Germany were analyzed using descriptive data analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis to detect factors that predict presentations BIBP.

RESULTS

5440 PES presentations: 20.4% BIBP during the first wave vs. 16.3% during its control period; second wave: 17.6% BIBP vs. 14.9% during its control period. In both waves, absolute increases in presentations BIBP were seen compared to control (p = .029, p = .028, respectively). COVID-19-period was a predictor for presentations BIBP during the first and the second wave. The following factors also predicted presentations BIBP: younger age, male gender, aggressive behavior, suicide attempt prior to presentation and diagnosis of psychotic or substance use disorders; depressive disorders were negatively associated.

CONCLUSIONS

During the two first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in presentations BIBP in a PES in Berlin. Regression analysis shows that the pandemic itself was a predictor of presentations BIBP. The underlying factors of this association need to be further elucidated in future research. Additionally, general factors predicting PES presentations BIBP are reported that replenish the present literature.

Factors Associated With Police Bringing Children to a Psychiatric Emergency Room

OBJECTIVE

Sensational headlines describing police entanglements with young children have prompted questions about how often these incidents occur and why. The authors of this cross-sectional study examined the factors associated with police versus nonpolice arrivals to the psychiatric emergency room and those predicting subsequent police arrivals.

METHODS

Electronic medical records of children ages 5.0-12.9 years brought to a comprehensive psychiatric emergency program (CPEP) at a university hospital were reviewed to determine whether a child was brought by police ("police arrival") in response to a 911 call by school personnel, a mental health or other medical professional, or a caregiver. Extracted data included the child's age, sex, race-ethnicity, family makeup, insurance status, arrival status, referral source, diagnosis, disposition, treatment, number of CPEP and police encounters, and occurrences of aggression and suicidality. Multilevel and ordinary logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with a first and subsequent police arrival.

RESULTS

Of 339 children with CPEP encounters from September 2017 to April 2018, 103 (30%) had had at least one police arrival. Children brought by police were more likely than peers brought by caregivers to be Black or Latinx, have Medicaid, come from families without two parents, and have aggressive outbursts or suicidal behavior. Results from multilevel logistic regression indicated that aggressive outbursts and suicidality were most significantly and consistently associated with experiencing both a first and subsequent police arrival.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical and sociodemographic differences in police arrivals highlight the need for a comprehensive systems approach for children, especially marginalized youths, who need psychiatric emergency care.

The Chinese Mandarin Version of the Crisis Triage Rating Scale for Taiwanese with Mental Illness to Compulsory Hospitalization

Background: A controversial issue of the need to protect human rights and ensure public safety still remains a conflict in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to translate the Crisis Triage Rating Scale to Chinese Mandarin (CMCTRS). Method: A cross-sectional design with convenient sampling was employed in this study. The CMCTRS was tested on 302 Taiwanese individuals with mental illness who were admitted to the emergency room (ER) of a psychiatric center. A higher score indicated a greater need for mandatory psychiatric admission. Psychiatrists rated the patients’ status according to three scale criteria and six action plans of recommendations. Results: Five specialists evaluated the content validity index to be 0.8. A total of 210 participants (69.5%) were deemed suitable for compulsory hospitalization or admission for observation in ER. The optimal cut-off score was 8, with a Youden Index of 1.46, a sensitivity of 0.748, and a specificity of 0.712 in deciding the need for hospitalization or observation. Conclusions: The CMCTRS exhibited an acceptable criterion validity with psychiatrists in a population of 302 patients at the ER of a psychiatric center. A cut-off point of 8 is recommended for determining hospitalization or a minimum 24 h stay at emergency for observation.

Police Involvement in Involuntary Psychiatry Admission: A Report From the Dublin Involuntary Admission Study

OBJECTIVE

The authors sought to compare diagnostic and demographic factors among patients who were involuntarily admitted to psychiatry care with or without police involvement.

METHODS

All admissions to psychiatry units in two university hospitals in Ireland were studied over a 3.5-year period.

RESULTS

Of 2,715 admissions, 443 (16%) were involuntary; complete data were available for 390 of these involuntary admissions, of which 78 (20%) involved police. Patients with police involvement did not differ significantly from those without police involvement in gender, marital and employment status, or diagnosis. The former patients had a longer mean admission duration and were more likely to be admitted under the "risk criterion" of the Mental Health Act 2001. Multivariable testing indicated that these variables do not independently predict police involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

The diagnostic or demographic factors examined did not contribute to police involvement in involuntary admission. Features such as homelessness, social exclusion, or criminogenic factors might underlie police involvement.

The Emerging Role of Police in Facilitating Psychiatric Evaluation Since the 2013 Implementation of the First Chinese Mental Health Law

In 2013, China's first Mental Health Law (MHL) took effect, with the goal of better protecting patients' rights. Under the law the police, with appropriate training, rather than family members, employers or medical staff sent from a hospital, are the ones who bring persons in behavioral crises to medical facilities for psychiatric assessment for possible involuntary hospitalization. We examined the proportion and distinctive characteristics of persons brought to psychiatric emergency services (PES) by the police since the implementation of MHL. We used medical records to document demographic and clinical characteristics of all persons evaluated at the PES of the Guangzhou Psychiatric Hospital, the largest psychiatric hospital in China's fourth largest city, from April 2017 to August 2017. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed to identify characteristics of patients brought to the PES by the police. Among 1515 PES visits, 166 (11.0%) were brought by the police as compared to virtually none in the years before the law took effect. Compared to non-police referrals, police referrals were associated with male gender, age greater than 30, more documented violent behavior, greater likelihood of having been restrained, and higher rates of hospital admission after assessment. Assessed risk of suicidality and diagnoses of substance use disorder were not significantly associated with police referral. A modest but increased and noteworthy proportion of patients evaluated at the PES after implementations of China's MHL were brought by the police, especially those with violent behavior requiring restraint and hospitalization resulting from mental illness.

Policies and procedures for patient transfers from community clinics to emergency departments under the mental health act: Review and policy scan

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this commentary is to summarize the few findings from the scientific literature pertaining to humane mental health transfer practices in the province of Ontario as well as the broader Canadian and international context. These findings are juxtaposed with a policing policy scan concerning the Ontario and Canadian contexts. The practice of default restraint use during transfers is surprisingly widespread practice, despite advocacy to the contrary, and is presented as the consequence of stigma and the lack of codified restriction of restraint use by police in their policy guidelines.

METHODS

(1) Literature search to discover relevant articles which were summarized using narrative review due to the lack of high-quality studies available in this area, and (2) Scan of publicly available policy documents in use by Ontario police agencies in March and April of 2018, as well as contacting several police agencies and community resources to review policies and procedures.

RESULTS

We review the available evidence on the use and impact of restraints in patient transfer to emergency departments from police settings, highlight police practices in four Ontario jurisdictions, and summarize recommendations from police and mental health advocates regarding mental health transfers.

DISCUSSION

Synthesizing the available evidence, policies, and procedures, we illustrate that the Ontario-wide variability in both who transfers PMI on a Form 1 to hospital and whether restraints are utilized reflect systemic failures to utilize least restrictive means of transfer. We offer a look at future areas of research and advocacy to improve practices in Canada.

Relapses and recurrences of catatonia: 30-case analysis and literature review

OBJECTIVE

Relieving catatonia helps identify the underlying etiology and its treatment. However, catatonia may reemerge after some time, but there are few data on the relapses and recurrences of catatonia. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of patients with relapses or recurrences of catatonia as well as the efficacy of the lorazepam-diazepam protocol on them.

METHODS

Patients with catatonia who had more than one episode of catatonia and were treated with the lorazepam-diazepam protocol were identified. Their medical charts were reviewed, and interview was conducted.

RESULTS

Thirty patients were identified. Nineteen (63.3%) were diagnosed with schizophrenia, five (16.7%) with major depressive disorder, two (6.7%) with bipolar disorder, and four (13.3%) with general medical conditions. In the 68 relapses and relapses the lorazepam-diazepam protocol was used, full response was reported in 54 (79.4%) of them. Twelve of 19 (63.2%) patients with schizophrenia were treated with clozapine. Twenty (66.7%) out of 30 patients were maintained on oral lorazepam by the time of discharge. Literature review showed similar prevalence of schizophrenia in patients with more than one episode of catatonia, and a wide variety of treatment options.

CONCLUSION

The lorazepam-diazepam protocol was mostly effective in managing relapses and recurrences of catatonia. Maintenance clozapine and oral lorazepam were beneficial in a significant number of patients.