Predictors of Prolonged Length of Stay in Suicidal Children Transferred to Psychiatric Facilities

Factors Associated With Discharge Against Medical Advice in US Adolescents Hospitalized for Suicidal Ideation or Suicide Attempt

OBJECTIVE

Little is known about factors associated with discharge against medical advice (DAMA) in adolescent acute care hospitalization for suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA). Our study seeks to determine whether certain socioeconomic factors or hospital characteristics are associated with DAMA in this population.

METHOD

This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the National Inpatient Sample from the 2015 fourth quarter to 2019. We included children 10 to 19 years of age hospitalized with a primary or secondary International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis of SI or SA. Exposures were patient socio-demographics and hospital characteristics. The outcome was DAMA. Logistic regression generated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs to measure the association between each patient and hospital characteristics and DAMA.

RESULTS

Of 476,755 hospitalizations meeting inclusion criteria, 3,825 (0.8%) were DAMA. After adjusting for socio-demographics and hospital characteristics, predictive factors for DAMA were age 16 to 19 years (OR = 1.41; CI = 1.08-1.82), self-pay status (OR = 1.43; CI = 1.12-1.83), hospital region South and West (OR = 1.55; CI = 1.10-2.20 and OR = 1.79; CI = 1.26-2.54, respectively), and urban non-teaching status of the hospital (OR = 1.90; CI = 1.42-2.55). Hispanic patients were less likely to be DAMA (OR = 0.66; CI = 0.51-0.85).

CONCLUSION

Variations in DAMA probabilities by age, insurance status, hospital teaching status, and hospital regions suggest a need for a better understanding of this uncommon outcome.

The burden of mental and behavioral health visits to the pediatric ED: A 3-year tertiary care center experience

BACKGROUND

The shortage of mental health services across the United States has turned pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) into safety-nets for the increasing population of children with mental and behavioral health (MBH) needs. This study provides a descriptive characterization of MBH-related PED visits, the trends in visit, ED length of stay (EDLOS), and admission rate.

METHODS

We reviewed electronic health records of children ≤18 years with MBH needs, who visited the PED of a large tertiary hospital from January 2017 to December 2019. We performed descriptive statistics, chi-square (χ2 ), and logistic regression analyses to evaluate trend in visit, EDLOS, admission rate, and predictors of prolonged EDLOS and inpatient admission.

RESULTS

Of 10,167 patients, 58.4% were females, median age was 13.8 years, and 86.1% were adolescents. On average, visits increased by 19.7% annually, with a 43.3% increase over 3 years. Common ED diagnoses include, suicidality (56.2%), depression (33.5%), overdose/poisoning, and substance use (18.8%), and agitation/aggression (10.7%). Median EDLOS was 5.3 hr, average admission rate was 26.3%, with 20.7% boarding in the ED for >10 hr. Independent predictors of admission include depression (pOR: 1.5, CI: 1.3-1.7), bipolar disorder (pOR: 3.5, CI: 2.4-5.1), overdose/substance use disorder (pOR: 4.7, CI: 4.0-5.6), psychosis (pOR: 3.3, CI: 1.5-7.3), agitation/aggression (pOR: 1.8, CI: 1.5-2.1), and ADHD (pOR: 2.5, CI: 2.0-3.0). Principal independent driver of prolonged EDLOS was patient admission/transfer status (pOR: 5.3, CI: 4.6-6.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Given the study results, MBH-related PED visits, ED length-of-stay, and admission rates continue to rise even in recent years. PEDs lack the resources and capability to provide high-quality care for the increasing population of children with MBH needs. Novel collaborative approaches and strategies are urgently needed to find lasting solutions.

Demographic, clinical and biochemical correlates of the length of stay for different polarities in Chinese inpatients with bipolar disorder: A real-world study

Introduction: Many patients with bipolar disorder (BD) need hospitalization, while the number of hospital beds for these patients is limited. Managing the length of stay (LOS) is an effective solution to this issue. Research on LOS and its influencing factors in BD is limited in China. This study aimed to identify the factors relevant to LOS in different polarities in Chinese patients with BD. Method: This was a real-world, cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from the electronic medical record system. Patients admitted to Beijing Anding Hospital between Jan 2014 and Dec 2017 and diagnosed with BD were included. Demographic information, clinical characteristics, and biochemical variables were collected. Patients were classified into short and long LOS groups based on a cutoff value. A univariate study and a multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify variables related to LOS in various BD polarities. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was utilized to evaluate the discrimination accuracy of the regression model. Result: Four thousand six hundred and seventy-five visits from 4,451 individuals were included in the analysis. For the whole sample, unmarried status, psychotic features, and family history of mental disorders were positively associated with long LOS (all p < 0.05). There was an additive interaction between a family history of mental disorders and polarities (p < 0.05). For manic episodes, unmarried status, psychotic features, and family history of mental disorders were positively associated with long LOS (all p < 0.05). For depressive episodes, psychotic features and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) levels were positively associated with long LOS (all p < 0.05). For mixed states, unmarried status was positively associated with long LOS, while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) levels were negatively associated with LOS (all p < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) values for depressive episodes, manic episodes, and mixed states in the combined model were 0.587, 0.553, and 0.619, respectively (all p < 0.05). Discussion: The findings suggested that LOS correlates differed by polarity, with marital status, psychotic features, a family history of mental disorders, and lipid levels strongly linked with LOS in patients with BD.

Understanding Characteristics and Predictors of Admission From the Emergency Department for Patients With Intellectual Disability

The goal of this investigation is to compare rates of admission from the emergency department (ED) and the characteristics of patients with intellectual disability (ID) who get admitted from the ED. This was a retrospective study using data from the United States' Nationwide Emergency Data Sample (NEDS) to investigate the associations between the diagnosis of ID and admission to the hospital in patients ≥ 18 years during the years 2016-2017. Adults with ID were almost four times as likely to be admitted to the hospital from the ED as patients who were not identified as having ID. Identifying the major contributors to increased admission for patients with ID may help improve their care.