Okasha TA, Sabry WM, Zaki NH, Rabie MA, Elhawary YA. Characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to the first psychiatric intensive care unit in Egypt.
S Afr J Psychiatr 2021;
27:1527. [PMID:
33824751 PMCID:
PMC8008029 DOI:
10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1527]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Psychiatric intensive care units (PICU) have become an essential part of psychiatric hospital design worldwide, there are few published data about their effectiveness.
Aim
In this study, the characteristics and outcomes of 50 Egyptian patients admitted to the first PICU in the Middle East region between April 2015 and October 2018 were retrospectively examined.
Setting
The study was conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University.
Methods
Data on patients in PICU at the Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, were collected retrospectively and analysed and included information on previous psychiatric contact, diagnoses, causes of admission and outcomes. Continuous and categorical variables were subjected to statistical analyses.
Results
The majority of patients in PICU were of female gender, having a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The most common reason for admission to the PICU is the management of delirium, followed by catatonia. The average length of patients’ stays in PICU ranged from half a day to 16 days. Immediate outcome differed where the majority of patients (47 patients, 94%) were discharged to the inpatient psychiatric ward.
Conclusion
This study reviewed practice in the first PICU in Cairo, Egypt, over 3 years, showing the importance of ongoing evaluations of patient populations in providing the best clinical practice; the typical PICU patient is likely to be: female, suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder (BAD). The most common reason for PICU admission is for the management of delirium followed by catatonia.
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