Psychiatry Research EG

Background Psychiatric emergency has been extensively studied over years with different transcultural presentations. Objective The aim of the study was to assess sociodemographic aspects and clinical diagnoses of psychiatric emergency cases attending emergency room (ER) at tertiary referral mental hospital and to study some of the clinical contributions of admitted patients through ER. Patients and methods During 3-month period, 3666 attendants to psychiatric ER were submitted for this cohort study. Patients were submitted to medical assessment and psychiatric evaluation by semistructured clinical interview. Of them, 283 were admitted and further submitted to Mini–Mental State Examination, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Crisis Triage Rating Scale at ward. Results A total of 3666 patients (2352 male and 1314 female) who were aged 33.44± 11.5 years, age range of 8–70 years, with psychiatric emergency attended Al Taif Psychiatric Hospital ER, KSA. The most prevalent psychiatric diagnoses were schizophrenia-related disorders in 30.4%, mood disorders in 28.8%, substancerelated disorders in 21.4%, anxiety in 9.6%, developmental disorders (MR) in 3.2%, personality disorders in 0.6%, somatoform disorders in 0.14%, and neurological disorders in 2.2%, whereas 3.3% of ER attendants had no formal psychiatric disorder. The main cause for attending ER was refill of medicine in 31%, followed by natural exacerbation of illness in 26%, then familial conflict in 16%, and finally social problem in 15% of patients. The hospitalization rate was found to be 7.7%; most admitted patients were alert. Hospitalized male patients were found to be more severe and had less social support with little cooperativeness from their families than female patients. Conclusion Psychiatric emergency constitutes a significant route for providing service for mentally ill patients. Family education and early detection of psychiatric disorders minimize the burden of psychiatric illness. Keywords: emergency room, hospital, psychiatric emergency