Length Of Psychiatric Hospitalization Research Articles

Predictors of the length of stay in psychiatric inpatient units: a retrospective study for the Paris Psychiatry Hospital Group.

Shortening the length of hospital stay (LOS) has become a major challenge for psychiatric hospitals in reducing unnecessary costs and improving the patient healthcare experience. We investigated the key factors associated with a long psychiatric hospitalization. This was a retrospective study of 8,870 full-time psychiatric hospital stays (6,216 patients) in the Paris Psychiatry Hospital Group, with a discharge in 2022. We used machine learning tools and univariate and multivariate methods to explore the impact of demographic, pathway-related, and clinical variables on the LOS. LOS >30 days was associated with age >55 years {odds ratio [OR] =2 [95% confidence interval 1.7-2.3]}, admission from outside the sectorization zone [OR=1.2 (1.1-1.3)], admission via a psychiatric emergency unit [OR, 1.2 (1.1-1.4)], and some clinical severity markers, such as psychotic disorder diagnosis [OR, 1.5 (1.3-1.7)], mandatory care [request of a third party, OR, 2.5 (2.1-2.9); case of imminent danger, OR, 2.3 (1.9-2.7)], the presence of seclusion and mechanical restraint measures (highlighting the positive effect of restraint duration), the somatic comorbidity for female sex [OR, 1.4 (1.2-1.7)], and treatment resistance [OR, 1.4 (1.2-1.6)]. Conversely, LOS ≤30 days was associated with being in a relationship [OR, 0.6 (0.5-0.8)], admission during a travel-related psychiatric episode [OR, 0.5 (0.3-0.6)], and personality and behavior disorders [OR, 0.7 (0.6-0.9)]. We found no significant association for features such as sex and a lack of treatment compliance. To our knowledge, this is the first recent study to investigate and highlight the impact of factors related to various illness severity markers, medication adherence, and patient journeys on the length of psychiatric hospital stay. A better understanding of long-stay risk factors might be helpful for optimizing the allocation of medical resources and anticipating tailored therapeutic programs.

Machine-Learning for Prescription Patterns: Random Forest in the Prediction of Dose and Number of Antipsychotics Prescribed to People with Schizophrenia.

ObjectiveWe aimed to predict antipsychotic prescription patterns for people with schizophrenia using machine learning (ML) algorithms.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, a sample of community mental health service users (SUs; n = 368) with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia was randomly selected. Socio-demographic and clinical features, including the number, total dose, and route of administration of the antipsychotic treatment were recorded. Information about the number and the length of psychiatric hospitalization was retrieved. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression and ML algorithms (i.e., random forest [RF], supported vector machine, K-nearest neighborhood, and Naïve Bayes) were used to estimate the predictors of total antipsychotic dosage and prescription of antipsychotic polytherapy (APP).ResultsThe strongest predictor of the total dose was APP. The number of Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) contacts was the most important predictor of APP and, with APP omitted, of dosage. Treatment with anticholinergics predicted APP, emphasizing the strong correlation between APP and higher antipsychotic dose. RF performed better than OLS regression and the other ML algorithms in predicting both antipsychotic dose (root square mean error = 0.70, R2 = 0.31) and APP (area under the receiving operator curve = 0.66, true positive rate = 0.41, and true negative rate = 0.78).ConclusionAPP is associated with the prescription of higher total doses of antipsychotics. Frequent attenders at CMHCs, and SUs recently hospitalized are often treated with APP and higher doses of antipsychotics. Future prospective studies incorporating standardized clinical assessments for both psychopathological severity and treatment efficacy are needed to confirm these findings.

The impact of court-ordered psychiatric treatment on hospital length of stay: balancing legal and clinical concerns.

Psychiatric hospital length of stay (LOS) is not affected solely by socio-clinical factors but also by legal procedures. This study examined the associations between legal procedures and LOS. Data from 521 patients with psychiatric illnesses hospitalized over 2013-2015 were analyzed. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the predictors of longer (> 14 days) or prolonged (> 30) LOS with socio-clinical factors and legal procedures including court-ordered interventions (assisted outpatient treatment, medication over objection, and retention). Longer LOS occurred in 246 patients and 99 had prolonged LOS. Legal procedures affected 57 patients, with 11 assisted outpatient treatments, 39 cases of medication over objection, and 16 retentions. Longer LOS was significantly associated with six factors including older age, unmarried status, non-Hispanic race, risk of violence, schizophrenia, and legal procedures. Legal procedures had the strongest association. Longer/prolonged LOS yielded qualitatively similar associations. Among 521 psychiatric inpatients, approximately 11% were mandated to receive interventions/procedures by the courts. Court-ordered legal procedures were strongly associated with longer LOS. Mental health providers may consider legal procedures for patients at high treatment/medication noncompliance risk as early as patient admission to inpatient units to prevent, intervene or prepare for a longer or prolonged LOS.

Mental Health Conservatorship Among Homeless People With Serious Mental Illness.

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between homelessness and length of psychiatric hospitalization and to explore the role of mental health conservatorship in determining discharge location for patients who are homeless and have a grave disability from serious mental illness. This observational study used administrative data from a safety-net psychiatric hospital in Los Angeles. The sample included 795 adults (≥18 years) who were hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold between 2016 and 2018. The outcome variables were length of stay (days) and discharge location (home, locked psychiatric facility, unlocked psychiatric facility, unhoused). The predictor variables were homelessness status and whether a mental health conservatorship was initiated during hospitalization. Multiple regression models were used to estimate associations between variables. Homelessness status was associated with 27.5 additional days (SE=3.5 days) of hospitalization in adjusted models. Homeless patients for whom conservatorship was initiated comprised 6% of the sample but 41% of total inpatient days. Among people who were homeless, initiation of a conservatorship was associated with significantly longer length of inpatient stay (mean=154.8 days versus 25.6 days for the whole sample) but also with lower odds of being unhoused at the time of discharge (risk ratio=0.19, 95% confidence interval=0.09-0.34). A mental health conservatorship can be a mechanism for helping homeless people with a grave disability from mental illness to transition from the streets to residential psychiatric treatment, but it requires substantial resources from facilities that initiate such conservatorships and does not guarantee resolution of long-term supportive housing needs.

A Retrospective Study on the Factors Associated with Long-Stay Hospitalization in a Child Neuropsychiatry Unit.

The past twenty years have seen a rapid increase in acute psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents, with a subsequent rise in the number of psychiatric hospitalizations. This paper aims to: (a) describe the epidemiology of hospitalizations and some of the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of pediatric patients admitted to a regional referral Complex Operative Child Neuropsychiatry Hospital Unit in Northeast Italy and (b) identify potential factors correlated with the length of hospital stay. Methods: 318 (M = 12.8 years; SD = 3.11; 72% Female) patients hospitalized for mental health disorders from 2013 to 2019. Results: Around 60% of hospital admissions occurred via the emergency room, mostly due to suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts (24%). Affective disorders were the most frequent discharge diagnosis (40%). As for factors correlated with length of hospital stay, we found significant links with chronological age, way of hospital admission, cause of admission, discharge diagnosis, presence of psychiatric comorbidity, family conflict, and psychiatric family history. Conclusions: These results provide information about global characteristics associated with the length of psychiatric hospital stays in pediatric patients and provide a basis on which specific precautions can be hypothesized with the aim of developing more focused treatments.

Effects of a Short Emotional Management Program on Inpatients with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Study.

The prevalence of schizophrenia is gradually increasing worldwide. Many patients with schizophrenia have a diminished ability to empathize and to detect their own emotions or those of others, deteriorating their social functioning and their quality of life. Nonetheless, emotional management training may improve patients’ emotion recognition, emotional expression, and negative symptoms. Developing and applying a short but effective program that reflects the current medical environment, in which hospital stays are ever-diminishing, is warranted. This one-group, pretest–posttest, quasi-experimental pilot study aimed to examine the effects of a short emotional management program (EMP-S) on 17 patients with chronic schizophrenia. Participants were patients hospitalized in the National Center for Mental Health in Korea. After the completion of a twice-a-week, eight-session, four-week long EMP-S, participants showed improvements in emotion recognition, emotional expression, and negative symptoms. Our results suggest the applicability and potential effectiveness of the EMP-S, which takes the length of psychiatric hospital stay and the inpatient environment into consideration. To minimize any barriers to social functioning in the post-discharge lives of inpatients with chronic schizophrenia and enhance their social cognition—by improving their emotion recognition, emotional expression, and negative symptoms—we suggest the periodical administration of this EMP-S to these inpatients.

De “myth” ifying Mental Health – Findings from a Community University Research Alliance (CURA)

Many myths exist regarding mental illness and those with mental health issues. Under the auspices of a Community-University Research Alliance on Housing and Mental Health, a partnership between academics, community health and social service agencies and representatives of consumer-survivor groups, fourteen consumer-survivor and eight family member focus groups were held throughout Southwestern Ontario. Individual interviews were also conducted with 150 male and 150 female community-based mental health system consumer-survivors living in a variety of housing environments in London, Ontario. The findings dispute beliefs around four myths: that people with mental health problems are a homogenous population, which was highlighted by significant differences between men and women in frequency and length of psychiatric hospitalizations, primary diagnosis, problem severity, psychoactive drug use and sexual abuse, are unemployed because they are uneducated, are violent and dangerous and thus spend extended periods of time incarcerated and are unsupported by their families which then leads to housing problems. Challenging these and other equally erroneous myths is essential in responding to the oppression faced by mental-health consumer-survivors and in developing a national strategy for mental health.

Correlates of Length of Hospitalisation in a Nigerian Psychiatric Hospital

Introduction: Globally, current trend favors brief psychiatric hospitalisation and community based mental health care. However, in many sub-Saharan African settings, community based mental health services are non-existent, mental health professionals are scarce, and out-of pocket payment for services is the norm. The extent to which these differences in health systems and sociocultural contexts impact on length of psychiatric hospitalization in sub-Saharan Africa compared to western countries is largely unknown. Aim: To determine the correlates of length of hospitalisation in a Nigerian psychiatric Hospital. Method: Using a retrospective cohort study design, clinical records of patients (n=260) hospitalised at a public psychiatric hospital in south-west Nigeria were reviewed. Relevant socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were extracted, based on extant literature on the subject. The outcome variable was the length of hospitalisation. Data was analysed with SPSS 16. Results: The mean and median length of hospitalisation was 14.3 (± 9.6) weeks and 12 weeks respectively. Male gender (p=0.012), unemployment (p<0.001), single marital status (p=0.013), schizophrenic illness (p=0.009), longer duration of illness before presentation (p=0.001), history of previous hospitalisation (p<0.001) and prescription of depot medications (p=0.005) correlated with longer hospitalisation. On linear regression analysis, male gender (p=0.03), employment status (p=0.03) and depot medication (p=0.001) were independently associated with prolonged psychiatric admission. Conclusion: Though brief psychiatric hospitalisation is the current paradigm globally, longer periods of hospital stay may be inevitable or functional in low-resourced settings with dearth of after-care community based mental health services.

Impact of Different Childhood Adversities on 1-Year Outcomes of Psychotic Disorder in the Genetics and Psychosis Study.

While the role of childhood adversity in increasing the risk of psychosis has been extensively investigated, it is not clear what the impact of early adverse experiences is on the outcomes of psychotic disorders. Therefore, we investigated associations between childhood adversity and 1-year outcomes in 285 first-presentation psychosis patients. Exposure to childhood adversity prior to 17 years of age was assessed using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire. Data on illness course, symptom remission, length of psychiatric hospitalization, compliance with medication, employment, and relationship status were extracted from clinical records for the year following first contact with mental health services for psychosis. Seventy-one percent of patients reported exposure to at least 1 type of childhood adversity (physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental separation, parental death, disrupted family arrangements, or being taken into care). No robust associations were found between childhood adversity and illness course or remission. However, childhood physical abuse was associated with almost 3-fold increased odds of not being in a relationship at 1-year follow-up compared to patients who did not report such adverse experiences. There was also evidence of a significant association between parental separation in childhood and longer admissions to psychiatric wards during 1-year follow-up and 2-fold increased odds of noncompliance with medication compared to those not separated from their parents. Therefore, our findings suggest that there may be some specificity in the impact of childhood adversity on service use and social functioning among psychosis patients over the first year following presentation to mental health services.

Predicting hospital length of stay for geriatric and adult patients with schizophrenia

Objective: To determine predictors of psychiatric hospital length of stay (LOS) for geriatric and adult patients with schizophrenia admitted to inpatient beds, that could be determined within 72 hours of hospitalization. Methods: General linear models were used to identify and compare predictors of LOS for 187 geriatric patients and 881 general adult patients with schizophrenia admitted to a large urban mental health centre between 2005 and 2010. Demographic and clinical information were obtained from the Resident Assessment Inventory – Mental Health (RAI). Results: Increased dependence score on the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale predicted longer LOS in general adult but not in geriatric schizophrenia patients. Predictors of longer LOS irrespective of age group included recent psychiatric admissions, living alone and incapacity to make treatment decisions. Conclusions: Specific clinical characteristics are associated with longer hospitalization in patients with schizophrenia. Addressing these factors early on in the admission may result in shorter LOS and better use of resources.

Hospital Length of Stay in Individuals With Schizophrenia With and Without Cocaine-Positive Urine Drug Screens at Hospital Admission

Despite the high prevalence of cocaine use disorder (CUD) in individuals with schizophrenia, current understanding of the effect of cocaine on psychiatric hospital length of stay (LOS) in individuals with schizophrenia is limited. We therefore retrospectively examined the medical records of 5106 hospital admissions due to exacerbation of schizophrenia. Linear regression and t-test were used to compare LOS between individuals with schizophrenia with cocaine-positive urine drug test results and those with negative test results. Individuals with schizophrenia who were also positive for cocaine had shorter LOS from both unadjusted (geometric mean LOS, 8.07 ± 1.92 vs. 11.83 ± 1.83 days; p < 0.001) and adjusted (β = 0.69; confidence interval, 0.63-0.76; p < 0.001) analyses. Our results suggest that individuals with schizophrenia who also have comorbid CUD may require shorter inpatient treatment during periods of exacerbation of symptoms. Replication of this finding has relevance in treatment planning and resource allocation for the subpopulation of individuals with schizophrenia who also have stimulant use disorders.

Associations of medical comorbidity, psychosis, pain, and capacity with psychiatric hospital length of stay in geriatric inpatients with and without dementia.

ABSTRACT Background: Geriatric psychiatry hospital beds are a limited resource. Our aim was to determine predictors of hospital length of stay (LOS) for geriatric patients with dementia admitted to inpatient psychiatric beds. Methods: Admission and discharge data from a large urban mental health center, from 2005 to 2010 inclusive, were retrospectively analyzed. Using the resident assessment instrument - mental health (RAI-MH), an assessment that is used to collect demographic and clinical information within 72 hours of hospital admission, 169 geriatric patients with dementia were compared with 308 geriatric patients without dementia. Predictors of hospital LOS were determined using a series of general linear models. Results: A diagnosis of dementia did not predict a longer LOS in this geriatric psychiatry inpatient population. The presence of multiple medical co-morbidities had an inverse relationship to length of hospital LOS - a greater number of co-morbidities predicted a shorter hospital LOS in the group of geriatric patients who had dementia compared to the without dementia study group. The presence of incapacity and positive psychotic symptoms predicted longer hospital LOS, irrespective of admission group (patients with dementia compared with those without). Conversely, pain on admission predicted shorter hospital LOS. Conclusions: Specific clinical characteristics generally determined at the time of admission are predictive of hospital LOS in geriatric psychiatry inpatients. Addressing these factors early on during admission and in the community may result in shorter hospital LOS and more optimal use of resources.

Effectiveness of aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone augmentation treatment for major depressive disorder: a nationwide population-based study.

Previous studies suggested that antidepressants augmented with second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), including aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone, resulted in better treatment response or higher rates of remission in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, population-based study on SGA augmentation for patients with MDD remains limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of SGA augmentation for treatment of MDD using the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. The subjects were patients with MDD (ICD-9-CM code: 296.2 and 296.3) who were initially admitted to psychiatric inpatient settings for the first time between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2007, and could be tracked until December 31, 2011. To assess the treatment effect of SGA augmentation, 993 MDD patients who received aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, or risperidone augmentation treatment for 8 weeks or more were included in this 1-year mirror-image study. Outcome measures included length of psychiatric hospitalization and number of psychiatric admissions and emergency room (ER) visits. After patients received SGA augmentation treatment, key psychiatric service use (including length of psychiatric hospitalization [P < .0001], number of psychiatric admissions [P < .0001], and ER visits [P = .0006]) due to MDD diagnosis was significantly reduced. Subgrouping analysis for each SGA drug also showed significant reduction in number of psychiatric admissions for MDD patients who received aripiprazole (P < .0001), olanzapine (P = .003), quetiapine (P < .0001), and risperidone (P < .0001). The study provides support that aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone augmentation therapy could be effective in reducing psychiatric service utilization among MDD patients.

On Naturalistic Pharmacogenetic Studies: Reply from the Authors

A letter in response to: Ruaño G, Szarek BL, Villagra D et al. Length of psychiatric hospitalization is correlated with CYP2D6 functional status in inpatients with major depressive disorder. Biomarkers Med. 7(3), 429–439 (2013).

CYP2D6 Genetic Polymorphism and Psychiatry Patients' Hospitalization Period

A letter in response to: Ruaño G, Szarek BL, Villagra D et al. Length of psychiatric hospitalization is correlated with CYP2D6 functional status in inpatients with major depressive disorder. Biomarkers Med. 7(3), 429–439 (2013).

CYP2D6 's Functional Status Associated with the Length of Hospitalization Stay in Psychiatric Patients: A Twist in the Tale or Evidence that Matters?

A letter in response to: Ruaño G, Szarek BL, Villagra D et al. Length of psychiatric hospitalization is correlated with CYP2D6 functional status in inpatients with major depressive disorder. Biomarkers Med. 7(3), 429–439 (2013).

Factors associated with length of psychiatric hospitalization

ObjectiveCriteria for psychiatric hospitalization have undergone marked changes. Efforts to limit length-of-hospitalization risk greater morbidity at discharge and increased needs for appropriate aftercare. Accordingly, we evaluated factors associated with length of psychiatric hospitalization and aftercare-types. MethodsWe reviewed medical records of 589 patients with major psychiatric disorders hospitalized in a university-affiliated, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital to identify characteristics associated with length of hospitalization, types of aftercare and insurance coverage, using standard bivariate and multivariate analytical methods. ResultsNotable factors associated with longer hospitalization included: more highly supervised aftercare, diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective>affective disorders, longer illnesses, higher antipsychotic doses and more complex drug-treatments at discharge, lower GAF functional status, unemployment, being unmarried, as well as public vs. private insurance. Multivariate modeling sustained association of longer hospitalization with higher antipsychotic doses, more structured aftercare, public insurance, lower GAF scores, and diagnoses of chronic psychotic disorders. Structured aftercare was associated with younger age, fewer years ill, and private insurance, but varied little by diagnosis and was unrelated to ethnicity. Public insurance was associated notably with being unemployed, unmarried, less functional, having a chronic psychotic disorder for more years, and lack of structured aftercare. ConclusionsIllness severity and functional impairment may modulate efforts to limit psychiatric hospitalization. Higher-level aftercare was associated with illness and disability factors as well as with private insurance; public insurance was associated with dysfunction, unemployment and chronic illness, as well as longer hospitalization.

The Direct and Interactive Effects of Physical Abuse Severity and Negative Affectivity on Length of Psychiatric Hospitalization: Evidence of Differential Reactivity to Adverse Environments in Psychiatrically High-Risk Youth

The current study examined the interactive influence of multiple factors (i.e., physical abuse severity and negative affectivity) in predicting youth's inpatient psychiatric length of stay (LOS), extending previous research focused on identification of only single LOS predictors. Elevated physical abuse severity was hypothesized to predict longer youth LOS, and negative affectivity was anticipated to exacerbate this relationship. This study included 42 youth. Clinicians rated youth temperament, whereas physical abuse severity and LOS were coded from youth medical records. Controlling for other previously determined predictors of LOS (i.e., age, gender, and GAF), moderation analyses confirmed hypotheses, revealing a temperament by environment interaction. Specifically, physical abuse severity was positively associated with LOS only in the context of high negative affectivity. Findings highlighted the importance of disentangling the interactive effects of multiple factors in predicting LOS. Moreover, critical clinical implications involving prioritized trauma assessment and treatment for inpatient youth are discussed.

Length of Psychiatric Hospitalization is Correlated With CYP2D6 Functional Status in Inpatients with Major Depressive Disorder

This study aimed to determine the effect of the CYP2D6 genotype on the length of hospitalization stay for patients treated for major depressive disorder. A total of 149 inpatients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder at the Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital (CT, USA), were genotyped to detect altered alleles in the CYP2D6 gene. Prospectively defined drug metabolism indices (metabolic reserve, metabolic alteration and allele alteration) were determined quantitatively and assessed for their relationship to length of hospitalization stay. Hospital stay was significantly longer in deficient CYP2D6 metabolizers (metabolic reserve <2) compared with functional or suprafunctional metabolizers (metabolic reserve ≥2; 7.8 vs 5.7 days, respectively; p = 0.002). CYP2D6 enzymatic functional status significantly affected length of hospital stay, perhaps due to reduced efficacy or increased side effects of the medications metabolized by the CYP2D6 isoenzyme. Functional scoring of CYP2D6 alleles may have a substantial impact on the quality of care, patient satisfaction and the economics of psychiatric treatment.

Influencia de los trastornos de consumo de sustancias en el curso de la esquizofrenia: un estudio de seguimiento de 15 años: Diagnóstico doble a lo largo de 15 años #

Background This follow-up study compared patients with schizophrenia with co-occurring substance use disorder to patients with schizophrenia and no substance use disorder. Aims To investigate the prognostic significance of the effects of substance use disorders on the course of schizophrenia. Method Patients with schizophrenia and co-occurring substance use disorder (n = 107), and patients with schizophrenia only (n = 119) were followed over a 15-year period through the use of national hospitalization registers, data for time and cause of death, and data for homelessness or institutionalization. Results The median length of psychiatric hospitalization was 12 days for a patient with dual diagnosis, and 21 days for patients with schizophrenia only. Patients with dual diagnosis displayed a significantly elevated usage of all types of hospital contacts except inpatient treatment for non-psychiatric disorders. In three types of hospital contacts, patients with co-occurring substance use had approximately two to three times as many hospitalizations as did patients with schizophrenia only. Rates for homelessness and institutionalization were similar in both groups. Patients with a dual diagnosis were also significantly more at risk of dying during follow-up than were patients with schizophrenia only. Conclusions The findings suggest that the long-term course of schizophrenia is considerably more severe in patients who have a dual diagnosis compared to patients with schizophrenia only substance use disorders have a substantial impact on the hospitalization rates of patients with schizophrenia, as well as on life expectancy. Patients with co-morbid substance abuse are more likely to be admitted for treatment during a given year although they have briefer contact with treatment.