[The development of utilisation of psychoneurotic in-patients in hospitals for psychiatry and psychotherapy of the so-called "new" Federal States of Germany].

OBJECTIVE

Up to now psychotherapeutic treatment naturally is part of treatment strategies of mental hospitals and departments of psychiatry at general hospitals. Actually there is a controversial debate in this issue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the development of the utilization of these hospitals by patients with "psychogenic disorders" in the new federal states of eastern Germany.

METHOD

We studied the changes in the utilization in hospitals of psychiatry and psychotherapy in Thuringia 1993 up to 1999 by patients with ICD-9-diagnoses 300 - 1 and 306 - 9 and compared these data with these of other clinics in East und West Germany.

RESULT

The utilization of psychotherapy patients increased in all hospitals. The increase in Thuringia was highest, in the other eastern German it was higher as in western clinics. Reasons of admissions for in-patient psychotherapeutic treatment were suicide ideations and attempts, aggression against others and prepsychotic agitation.

CONCLUSIONS

These results can be seen as a sign of a similar necessity of this care in the eastern as in western population under similar psychosocial conditions.