Predictors of repeat visits to hospital psychiatric emergency departments in Malaga (Spain) and in Lisbon (Portugal).

Moreno-Küstner, Berta; Warnke, Ingeborg Lisa Maria; Nordt, Carlos; Fernandez, Gemma; Ramos, José; Paulino-Matos, Pedro; Rössler, Wulf; Cardoso, Graça (2017). Predictors of repeat visits to hospital psychiatric emergency departments in Malaga (Spain) and in Lisbon (Portugal). Emergency medicine journal, 34(10), pp. 665-671. BMJ Publishing Group 10.1136/emermed-2015-205214

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OBJECTIVE

This study describes the profile of people with mental disorders attending emergency departments (EDs) in two countries and to identify specific mental disorders associated with repeat emergency visits.

METHODS

Retrospective analyses of 1 year of EDs data from two hospitals with psychiatric departments, one in Amadora/Sintra (Lisbon, Portugal, 2008) and the other in Malaga (Spain, 2009), were carried out. To determine which mental disorders were associated with repeat visits in each setting, negative binomial models were calculated.

RESULTS

There were 5141 visits for a mental disorder made by 3667 patients. Patients with affective disorder were the most frequent (32.2%). Among all mental health patients, 19.9% had at least one repeat visit during the year. For the two EDs setting combined, patients with personality disorders (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=3.79, 95% CI: 2.39 to 6.02) and psychotic disorders (IRR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.89) were more likely to have repeat visits compared with patients with affective disorders, whereas mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use (IRR=0.52, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.73) was associated with lower likelihood of repeat visits. Nearly all significant differences were attributable to the Malaga sample, where patients with personality disorders were four times more likely to have repeat EDs visits compared with patients with affective disorders. However, at both sites, patients with mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use were less likely to have repeat visits.

CONCLUSIONS

Certain mental disorders may be predictive of more frequent ED visits. The different results for each country suggest that further studies might focus not only on the characteristics of patients, but also on local healthcare organisation.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine 04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute of Legal Medicine > Forensic Psychiatric Services
UniBE Contributor:	Warnke, Ingeborg Lisa Maria
Subjects:	600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
ISSN:	1472-0205
Publisher:	BMJ Publishing Group
Language:	English
Submitter:	Antoinette Angehrn
Date Deposited:	21 Feb 2018 09:16
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:09
Publisher DOI:	10.1136/emermed-2015-205214
PubMed ID:	28720721
Uncontrolled Keywords:	emergency department mental health psychiatry
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/108741