Elsevier

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Volume 93, August 2019, Pages 20-26
Comprehensive Psychiatry

Changes over time of the diagnostic and therapeutic characteristics of patients of a psychiatric intensive care unit in Austria

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2019.06.004Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Substance abuse, schizophrenic and affective disorders were the most frequent diagnoses in our sample.

  • Modern diagnostic methods were increasingly employed in our PICU patients over time.

  • Older antidepressants and antipsychotics were replaced by newer compounds upon availability.

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this repeated cross-sectional study was to compare patients from a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) over ≫30 years regarding their diagnostic and therapeutic characteristics.

Method

Three samples including 100 consecutive inpatients each from the Viennese PICU were submitted to a chart review: sample no. 1 from the years 1985/86, no. 2 from 1995/96 and no. 3 from 2007/08.

Results

Changes in referral modes were associated with a decrease of patients with substance induced disorders and an increase of patients with affective disorders over time. The rate of admissions after accidents and suicides was stable. The use of cranial MRI increased, while intravenous psychopharmacotherapy and parenteral nutrition decreased. Involuntary admission occurred in 43% and in 37% of patients physical restraints were necessary. We saw a shift from tricyclic antidepressants to SSRIs and SNRIs from sample 1 to 3. Likewise, we observed the emergence of atypical antipsychotics and a reduction of use of typical neuroleptics mainly from sample 2 to 3. The percentage of patients receiving benzodiazepines increased over time, while the mean dosage of benzodiazepines decreased. 7% of patients received electroconvulsive therapy.

Conclusions

The changes over time in our samples reflect the medical progress made during the last decades. Future studies should focus on evaluation of efficacy of psychiatric intensive care using standardized measurements.

Keywords

Mental health services
Intensive care
History
Psychopharmacology
Antidepressants
Antipsychotics

Cited by (0)