Changes in emergency psychiatric consultations in time of COVID-19: a retrospective observational study in the Verona Academic Hospital over the two pandemic years 2020–2021

BMC Emergency Medicine

Research Article

Enrico Polati¹  Chiara Bonetto²  Luca Bodini²  Antonio Lasalvia³  Francesco Amaddeo⁴  Giorgio Ricci⁵  Ciro Paolillo⁵  Antonio Maccagnani⁶  Antonio Bonora⁶ 

[1] Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care B, University of Verona, DAI Emergenza e Terapie Intensive, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Verona, Italy;Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy;Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy;UOC Psichiatria, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Verona, Italy;Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy;UOC Psicosomatica e Psicologia Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Verona, Italy;UOC Pronto Soccorso, Ospedale Civile Maggiore, DAI Emergenza e Terapie Intensive, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Verona, Italy;UOC Pronto Soccorso, Policlinico “G.B. Rossi”, DAI Emergenza e Terapie Intensive, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata (AOUI) di Verona, Verona, Italy;

关键词: Coronavirus;    COVID-19;    Mental health;    Lockdown;    Outbreak;    Emergency department;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12873-023-00788-9

 received in 2022-06-24, accepted in 2023-02-06,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDuring the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, local health authorities in most Italian regions prescribed a reduction of ordinary outpatient and community mental health care. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to the emergency departments (ED) for psychiatric consultation in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019.MethodsThis is a retrospective study conducted by using routinely collected administrative data of the two EDs of the Verona Academic Hospital Trust (Verona, Italy). All ED psychiatry consultations registered from 01.01.2020 to 31.12.2021 were compared with those registered in the pre-pandemic year (01.01.2019 to 31.12.2019). The association between each recorded characteristic and the year considered was estimated by chi-square or Fisher’s exact test.ResultsA significant reduction was observed between 2020 and 2019 (-23.3%) and between 2021 and 2019 (-16.3%). This reduction was most evident in the lockdown period of 2020 (-40.3%) and in the phase corresponding to the second and third pandemic waves (-36.1%). In 2021, young adults and people with diagnosis of psychosis showed an increase in requests for psychiatric consultation.ConclusionsFear of contagion may have been an important factor in the overall reduction in psychiatric consultations. However, psychiatric consultations for people with psychosis and for young adults increased. This finding underlines the need for mental health services to implement alternative outreach strategies aimed to support, in times of crisis, these vulnerable segments of the population.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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Fig. 1