TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Mid-term psychiatric consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic: a 4 months observational study on emergency room admissions for psychiatric evaluation after the (first) lockdown period in Italy
JO  - Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
A1  - Beghi, Massimiliano
A1  - Ferrari, Silvia
A1  - Biondi, Laura
A1  - Brandolini, Riccardo
A1  - Corsini, Claudia
A1  - De Paoli, Giovanni
A1  - Sant'Angelo, Rosa Patrizia
A1  - Fraticelli, Carlo
A1  - Casolaro, Ilaria
A1  - Zinchuk, Mikhail
A1  - Pashnin, Evgenii
A1  - Urh, Lina
A1  - Castelpietra, Giulio
A1  - Cornaggia, Cesare Maria
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - The aim of our study is to evaluate the number and the features of admissions to the emergency room (ER) requiring psychiatric consultation, in the period between May 4th and August 31st 2020.     Methods    We carried out a retrospective longitudinal observational study examining the 4 months following the initial lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 outbreak (May 4th and August 31st 2020). More specifically, the ER admissions leading to psychiatric referral were reviewed at all seven public hospitals of AUSL Romagna (Emilia Romagna region, Italy). Socio-demographic variables, history of medical comorbidities or psychiatric disorders, reason for ER admission, psychiatric diagnosis at discharge, and actions taken by the psychiatrist were collected.     Results    An 11.3% (p = 0.007) increase in psychiatric assessments was observed when compared with the same period of the previous year (2019). A positive personal history of psychiatric disorders (OR:0.68, CI: 0.53-0.87) and assessments leading to no indication for follow-up (OR: 0.22, CI: 0.13-0.39) were significantly less frequent, while there was a significant increase of cases featuring organic comorbidities (OR: 1.24, CI: 1.00-1.52) and suicidal ideation/self-harm/suicide attempt (OR: 1,71, CI: 1.19-2.45) or psychomotor agitation (OR: 1.46, CI: 1.02-2.07) as reason for admission.     Conclusions    Our results showed an increase in ER psychiatric consultations compared to the previous year, underlying the increased psychological distress caused by the lockdown.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0933-7954
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-022-02262-6
ID  - ref1
ER  -