Psychiatric emergencies during the covid-19 pandemic: A 6-month observational study

Abstract

Background: The new SARS-CoV-2 has caused an ongoing pandemic. Health prevention measures to contain the outbreak are profoundly affecting the physical and mental health as well as personal freedom of the population. Aim: To evaluate psychiatric emergencies in a 6-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to those of the corresponding period of the previous year. Methods: This monocentric observational study preliminarily collected variables of the urgent psychiatric consultations (UPCs) carried out in emergency room (ER) from 1-3-2020 to 31-8-2020 and the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who required UPCs in the 6-month period, comparing these data with those collected from 1-3-2019 to 31-8-2019. The data, collected in alpha-numeric code, were statistically analyzed through STATA 12-2011. Results: This research reported a reduction of both UPCs and hospital psychiatric admis- sions. Concomitantly, we observed an increase of UPCs required by people already being treated by psychiatric and other health services, residents in psychiatric facilities and non- Italians. In 2020, differently from 2019, the most frequent reasons for urgent psychiatric consultations were aggressive behavior and adjustment disorders with anxiety and depressive mood. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests that, during the COVID-19 epidemic, urgent psychiatric consultations in ER were reduced, except for the most vulnerable people due to their clinical and/or social conditions.