Characteristics of elderly people using the psychiatric emergency system

Characteristics of older patients in the largest French psychiatric emergency centre

Despite an increasing number of adults older than 60 years with psychiatric disorders, there are few studies on older patients in psychiatric emergencies and no European data. We aimed to describe the population of patients aged 60 years and older who presented to the main French psychiatric emergency centre and identify predictors of psychiatric hospitalization. This monocentric study included 300 consecutive patients aged 60 years and older. Patients presenting because of psychiatric emergencies were frequently female and lived autonomously. More than 40% had a history of at least one psychiatric hospitalization and 44% had consulted a psychiatrist in the previous 6 months. The most common reasons for consultation were depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and suicidal thoughts. Psychiatric disorders were mainly mood disorders; neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders; and schizophrenic, schizotypal and delusional disorders. Only 10% had a diagnosis of organic mental disorders. Overall, 39% of the patients were admitted to the psychiatric hospital. Factors predicting hospitalization were a history of psychiatric hospitalization, suicidal thoughts and a diagnosis of a mood disorder or schizophrenia/schizotypal/delusional disorder. In conclusion, among people aged 60 years and older who consulted for psychiatric emergencies, 39% had to be hospitalized in psychiatry and only psychiatric factors influenced the decision to hospitalize. Our study highlights the need for further studies of older people in psychiatric emergencies in Europe, to anticipate the needs of this specific population and adapt multidisciplinary mental health care.

[The elderly with a psychiatric prognosis in the emergency room]

In the emergency department, the diagnosis of an acute psychiatric condition in an elderly patient should only be made after rigorous clinical and paraclinical examinations to rule out any somatic pathology. In addition, the management and treatment of acute agitation must be adapted.

Recommandations de pratique clinique sur la prise en charge du patient adulte à présentation psychiatrique dans les structures d’urgences

De nombreux patients consultant aux urgences souffrent de pathologies psychiatriques préexistantes ou ont une symptomatologie évocatrice d’une pathologie psychiatrique. En effet, les troubles psychiatriques touchent un adulte sur quatre, et 75%des affections psychiatriques débutent avant l’âge de 25 ans. Le parcours de soins d’un patient adulte à présentation psychiatrique dans les structures d’urgences concerne de multiples intervenants. La complexité inhérente à ces patients complexes ainsi qu’à l’interdisciplinarité induite dans la prise en charge impose un cadre de prise en charge clair et consensuel. Des experts de la psychiatrie, de la gérontopsychiatrie et de la médecine d’urgence se sont réunis pour émettre ces recommandations de bonnes pratiques. Le choix de présenter des recommandations de bonnes pratiques et non des recommandations formalisées d’experts a été fait devant l’insuffisance de littérature de fort niveau de preuve dans certaines thématiques et de l’existence de controverses. À travers ces recommandations de bonnes pratiques cliniques, ils se sont attachés à décrire la prise en charge de ses patients aussi bien en préqu’en intrahospitalier. Les objectifs de ces recommandations sont de présenter les éléments indispensables à l’organisation du parcours de soins de ces patients, la gestion de l’agitation ainsi que la prise en charge pharmacologique ou non. Une partie spécifique est consacrée aux aspects réglementaires.

Length of mechanical restraint following haloperidol injections versus oral atypical antipsychotics for the initial treatment of acute schizophrenia: a propensity-matched analysis from the Japanese diagnosis procedure combination database

Differences in effectiveness between haloperidol injection and oral atypical antipsychotics in the acute-phase treatment of schizophrenia are not well examined. We retrospectively investigated whether these treatment options affected the length of mechanical restraint. We used the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination Database to identify schizophrenia patients who were involuntarily hospitalized and receiving mechanical restraint between July and December, 2006-2009. Data included patient demographics, use of antipsychotics, and number of days on which patients underwent mechanical restraint. Propensity score matching was performed to compare the number of days of mechanical restraint between the haloperidol injection group and the oral atypical antipsychotics group. We used survival analysis to examine whether the initial difference in treatment affected the number of days of mechanical restraint. Cox regression was performed to compare the concurrent effects of various factors. Among 1731 eligible patients, 574 were treated with haloperidol injections and 420 with atypical antipsychotics. Matching produced 274 patients in each group. Cox regression analysis showed that the initial therapeutic agents did not significantly affect the number of days of mechanical restraint. The results indicate that atypical antipsychotics were as effective as haloperidol injections in the acute-phase treatment of schizophrenia.

Predictors of emergency commitment for nursing home residents: the role of resident and facility characteristics

OBJECTIVES

The ability of nursing homes to manage the mental health needs of their residents is crucial to providing high quality care. An important element is preventing exacerbations of psychiatric conditions that trigger discharge from the nursing home (NH) because of an emergency commitment (EC) for an involuntary psychiatric examination. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between resident and facility characteristics and the risk of EC for involuntary psychiatric examination among Medicaid-enrolled NH residents in Florida.

DESIGN

This retrospective cohort study employed 2.5 years (31 December 2002 through 30 June 2005) of Medicaid enrollment and fee-for-service, pharmacy, and involuntary commitment data to examine resident characteristics. NH characteristics were obtained from the Online Survey Certification and Reporting database.

SETTING

Medicaid-certified NHs in Florida (N= 584).

PARTICIPANTS

Medicaid-enrolled NH residents (N= 32,604).

RESULTS

Younger age, male gender, having dementia, having a serious mental illness (SMI), and residing in a for-profit facility were all independently associated with the greater risk of EC. Although most residents with EC were prescribed psychotropic medication, less than half received non-pharmacological behavioral health outpatient services before or after their involuntary psychiatric examination.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the salience of resident and facility characteristics to prevalence rates of EC for involuntary psychiatric examinations among NH residents and underscore a need for increased education, communication, and future research on the predictive factors as well as the consequences of these adverse events.

The elderly in the psychiatric emergency service (PES); a descriptive study

BACKGROUND

The impact of an aging population on the psychiatric emergency service (PES) has not been fully ascertained. Cognitive dysfunctions aside, many DSM-IV disorders may have a lower prevalence in the elderly, who appear to be underrepresented in the PES. We therefore attempted to more precisely assess their patterns of PES use and their clinical and demographic characteristics.

METHODS

Close to 30,000 visits to a general hospital PES (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) were acquired between 1990 and 2004 and pooled with over 17,000 visits acquired using the same methodology at three other services in Quebec between 2002 and 2004.

RESULTS

The median age of PES patients increased over time. However, the proportion of yearly visits attributable to the elderly (compared to those under 65) showed no consistent increase during the observation period. The pattern of return visits (two to three, four to ten, eleven or more) did not differ from that of patients under 65, although the latter made a greater number of total return visits per patient. The elderly were more often women (62%), widowed (28%), came to the PES accompanied (42%) and reported « illness » as an important stressor (29%). About 39% were referred for depression or anxiety. They were less violent (10%) upon their arrival. Affective disorders predominated in the diagnostic profile, they were less co-morbid and more likely admitted than patients under 65.

CONCLUSION

Although no proportional increase in PES use over time was found the elderly do possess distinct characteristics potentially useful in PES resource planning so as to better serve this increasingly important segment of the general population.

Report on suicidal trends in persons aged 60 or over in Japan: the need for effective prevention measures

In Japan, the suicide rate has remained high since 1998, and effective suicide prevention measures that can bring about an immediate decrease in suicides are needed now. Specific suicide prevention measures must be based on the results of detailed research into the trends and causative factors of suicide. In the present study, we investigated the number of suicides and the proportion of causative factors in persons aged 60 or over compared with the total number of suicides in Japan from 1999 to 2005. We also discussed the causative factors of suicide among men and women aged 60 or over in detail. During the period from 1999 to 2005, the proportion of the number of suicides in persons aged 60 or over to the total number of suicides changed from 28.9% to 31.1% among men and from 42.5% to 45.9% among women. The most common causative factor was 'health problems' among both men and women, and the second most common cause was 'economic and life problems' among men. 'Family problems' was one of the major causative factors among both men and women. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to persons aged 60 or over with regard to these factors in particular. Professionals and organizations involved in suicide prevention must work cooperatively to prevent suicide.