SCL-90-R factor structure in an acute, involuntary, adult psychiatric inpatient sample

The dimensionality of the SCL-90-R was investigated in an acute, involuntarily committed adult psychiatric sample (N = 260) using common principal factor extraction and confirmatory factor analytic procedures. The findings show a large primary factor accounting for 42% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analyses failed to replicate the standardization data. These results are consistent with previous research suggesting a primary global distress factor. They raise questions of the validity of the SCL-90-R clinical profile from acute involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric adults.

Cardiac side effects and sudden death in hospitalized psychiatric patients

Cardiac side effects were evaluated in 1,932 psychiatric inpatients and were found to be more common among the 48 patients with co-existing cardiac disease (18.8%) than among the remaining 1,884 patients (1.3%). Sinus tachycardia was the most common reaction and affected 19 patients, 17 of whom did not have heart disease. While there were two cases of sudden death in which drugs were suspected, in both cases a causal relationship was in some doubt. Neither of the two patients who died received tricyclic antidepressants or phenothiazines.