응급실을 통한 정신과 입원환자에 대한 임상적 고찰

A Clinical Study on Neuropsychiatric Patients Admitted Via the Emergency Room

Hospital records of 127 neuropsychiatric patients admitted to Seoul Paik Hospital via the E.R. from January 1，1984 to December 31，1986 were reviewed, and the following results were obtained. 1) Patients admitted via the E.R. comprised 22.8^ of total neuropsychiatric admissions. 2) The readmission rate of patients via the E.R. was 36.2 %, that of the patients admitted via the O.P.D. was 22.7% 3) The average duration of hospitalization of neuropsychiatric pateints admitted via the E.R. was 36 days, that of the patients admitted via the O.P.D. was 48.3 days. 4) 32.3 % of the E.R. admission patients were in their twenties ; 55.9 % of them were in their twenties or thirties. Male for female ratio was 1.15 • 1 5) 22.8 % of the E.R. patients were diagnosed as schizophrenic disorder ; which was the most frequent diagnosis in all patients. 6) 34.6% of the E.R. patients were discharged within 2 weeks, and 60.6 %, within 1 month. 7) Presenting problems, in the order of frequency, were paralysis or numbness of extremities, somatic sysmptoms, hallucination or paranoid delusion, and anxiety or panic state. More than half of the patients presented one or more of these symptoms. 8) 36.2% of the E.R. patients were discharged against medical advice. This was higher than A.M.A. discharge rate of 26.7% of the patients admitted via the O.P.D.