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Di Lorenzo R, Reami M, Dragone D, Morgante M, Panini G, Ferri P, Rovesti S. Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Hospitalizations in an Acute Psychiatric Ward. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2024; 17:1713-1723. [PMID: 38953036 PMCID: PMC11215659 DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s465858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The Sars-CoV-2 pandemic imposed unprecedented and drastic changes in health care organizations all over the world. Purpose To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on hospitalizations in an acute psychiatric ward. Patients and Methods We retrospectively identified and compared acute psychiatric hospitalizations in the Service for Psychiatric Diagnosis and Care (SPDC) of AUSL-Modena during the pre-pandemic (n = 1858) and pandemic period (n = 1095), from 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2022. Data were statistically analyzed using STATA12. Results We collected 1858 hospitalizations in the pre-pandemic and 1095 in the pandemic. During the pandemic, we observed a progressively sharp reduction in voluntary hospitalizations, whereas involuntary ones remained stable with an increase in 2022 (p < 0.001), longer hospital stays (12.32 mean days vs 10.03; p < 0.001), longer periods of involuntary hospitalizations (8.45 mean days vs 5.72; p < 0.001), more frequent aggressive behaviour (16.10% vs 9.12%; p < 0.001) and referral to psychiatric communities at discharge (11.04% vs 6.13%; p < 0.001); non-Italians (p = 0.001), people with disability pension (p < 0.001) and Support Administrator (p < 0.001) were more frequently hospitalized. Conclusion During the pandemic, voluntary psychiatric hospitalizations decreased, but not involuntary ones, and the most vulnerable people in serious clinical conditions were hospitalized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosaria Di Lorenzo
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, 41124, Italy
| | - Matteo Reami
- School of Medicine & Surgery, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, 41125, Italy
| | - Diego Dragone
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, 41124, Italy
| | - Martina Morgante
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, 41124, Italy
| | - Giulia Panini
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, 41124, Italy
| | - Paola Ferri
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, 41125, Italy
| | - Sergio Rovesti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, 41125, Italy
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Di Lorenzo R, Reami M, Dragone D, Morgante M, Panini G, Rovesti S, Filippini T, Ferrari S, Ferri P. Involuntary Hospitalizations in an Italian Acute Psychiatric Ward: A 6-Year Retrospective Analysis. Patient Prefer Adherence 2023; 17:3403-3420. [PMID: 38111689 PMCID: PMC10726769 DOI: 10.2147/ppa.s437116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose We evaluated the differences between demographic (age, sex, nationality, employment, housing, schooling, support administrator), clinical (hospitalization reason, aggressive behaviour, length of hospitalization, psychiatric diagnosis and comorbidities, psychiatric medications, discharge destination, "revolving door" hospitalizations) and environmental (pre-and pandemic period) variables in voluntary (VHs) and involuntary hospitalizations (IHs) in an acute psychiatric ward during a 6-year period. Patients and Methods We retrospectively collected the selected variables concerning the hospitalizations of subjects over 18 years of age in the Service for Psychiatric Diagnosis and Care of Mental Health and Drug Abuse Department in Modena from 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2022. Results We observed a progressive and sharp reduction in the number of VHs (n = 1800; 61.41%) during the pandemic and a stability of IHs (n = 1131; 38.59%), which in 2022 became prevalent. We highlighted the following differences between VHs and IHs: an increase in hospitalization length in IHs (14.25 mean days ± 15.89 SD) in comparison with VHs (8.78 mean days ± 13.88 SD), which increased more during the pandemic; an increase in aggressive behavior in IHs, especially during the pandemic (Pearson Chi2 = 90.80; p = 0.000); a prevalence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders (Pearson Chi2 = 283.63; p = 0.000) and more frequent maladaptive social conditions among subjects in IHs. Conclusion During the 6-year observation period, we underscored a trend of increasingly reduced recourse to VHs, whereas IHs increased even in the pandemic. Our results suggest that IHs in Psychiatry represented an extreme measure for treating the most severe psychopathological situations such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, characterized by aggressive behaviour and precarious social conditions, which needed longer stay than VHs, especially during the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matteo Reami
- School of Medicine & Surgery, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Diego Dragone
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Martina Morgante
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Giulia Panini
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Sergio Rovesti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Tommaso Filippini
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Silvia Ferrari
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
- Mental Health Department and Drug Abuse, AUSL-IRCCS Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Paola Ferri
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
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Beghi M, Alamia A, Alippi M, Colombo RA, Fraticelli C. Psychiatric ward admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canton of Ticino (Swiss Confederation) and the province of Como (Italy): a comparison between two different systems of care and outbreak response strategies. EMERGENCY CARE JOURNAL 2023. [DOI: 10.4081/ecj.2023.11000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of the COVID- 19 pandemic and response policies on the psychiatric ward admissions in the hospitals referring to the ASST Lariana (province of Como, Italy) and the Hospital of Mendrisio (Canton of Ticino, Switzerland), two similar territories that belong to countries that dealt differently with the pandemic. We compared the two territories for type of admission (voluntary vs. compulsory), the Stringency Index (SI) and the country’s number of admission in Intensive Care Units (ICU). We found a significant reduction in the psychiatric ward admission in the lockdown period in both territories, even in periods with milder lockdown measures. The admission rate’s reduction in the ASST Lariana was significantly associated with the ICU admissions (p<0.001). In the Hospital of Mendrisio, admissions included a weekly seasonality, were significantly correlated with SI (p=0.001) and period (pre-pandemic and pandemic; p<0.001) and we observed also a significant reduction of compulsory admission that is influenced both by the stringency index (p<0.001) and period (p<0.001). The differences between the two territories seem influenced by the different mental health systems.
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Di Lorenzo R, Pinelli M, Bertani D, Cutino A, Dragone D, Elia C, Farina R, Fiore G, Luisi F, Panico S, Valeo L, Rovesti S, Ferri P. The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Emergencies in Two Different Settings: Emergency Room and Community Mental Health Service. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:894939. [PMID: 35693974 PMCID: PMC9178082 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.894939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic caused a public health emergency with profound consequences on physical and mental health of individuals. Emergency Rooms (ER) and Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) played a key role in the management of psychiatric emergencies during the pandemic. The purpose of the study was to evaluate urgent psychiatric consultations (UPCs) in the ERs of the General Hospitals and in the CMHS of a Northern Italian town during the pandemic period. METHODS This monocentric observational study collected UPCs carried out in ER from 01/03/2020 to 28/02/2021 (the so called "COVID-19 period") and the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who required UPCs in the 12-months period, comparing these data with those collected from 01/03/2019 to 29/02/2020 (the so called "pre-COVID-19 period"). The same variables were collected for UPCs carried out in CMHS from 01/03/2020 to 31/01/2021 and compared with those collected from 01/03/2019 to 31/01/2020. The data, were statistically analyzed through STATA 12-2011. RESULTS In ER, we reported a 24% reduction in UPCs during the COVID-19 period (n = 909) in comparison with the pre-COVID-19 period (n = 1,194). Differently, we observed an increase of 4% in UPCs carried out in CMHS during the COVID-19 period (n = 1,214) in comparison with the previous period (n = 1,162). We observed an increase of UPCs in ER required by people who lived in psychiatric facilities or with disability pension whereas more UPCs in CMHS were required by older people or those living in other institutions compared to the previous period. In the COVID-19 period, the most frequent reasons for UPCs in ER were aggressiveness, socio-environmental maladjustment and psychiatric symptoms in organic disorders whereas in CMHS we reported an increase of UPCs for control of psychopharmacology therapy and mixed state/mania. CONCLUSION In light of our findings, we conclude that the most vulnerable people required more frequent attention and care in both ER and CMHS during pandemic, which disrupted individuals' ability to adapt and induced many stressful reactive symptoms. In order to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, psychological support interventions for the general population should be implemented, having particular regard for more psychologically fragile people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosaria Di Lorenzo
- Service of Psychiatric Diagnosis and Care, Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addictions, AUSL Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Margherita Pinelli
- Community Mental Health Service, Department of Mental Health and Pathological Addictions, AUSL Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Davide Bertani
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Anna Cutino
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Diego Dragone
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Claudia Elia
- School of Nursing, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Riccardo Farina
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Gianluca Fiore
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Filippa Luisi
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Sofia Panico
- School of Nursing, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Laura Valeo
- School of Psychiatry, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Sergio Rovesti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Paola Ferri
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
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