Smith Brad, Hassett Anne, Harrigan Susan, Fortune Tracy
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Australas Psychiatry. 2010 Apr;18(2):146-51. doi: 10.3109/10398560903314112.
The study aimed to characterize the demographics, diagnostic makeup and aspects of patient management for the inpatient population of a large aged psychiatry service.
Sociodemographic and clinical variables were retrospectively collated from inpatient files and discharge summaries over a 3-year period. Age, gender, country of birth, diagnostic group, length of stay, involuntary care status and number of admissions were described and analysed. A total of 604 patients were included in the study, with complete data available for 516.
Approximately half of the patients were aged 65-75 years and 59.3% were female. More than half had been born outside of Australia. The primary diagnosis was an affective disorder in 39.0% of admissions, dementia in 27.5% and psychotic illnesses in 25.8%. The median length of stay was 28 days; 60.8% had a period of involuntary care and 79.8% had only one admission.
In the near future, aged psychiatry services will face increased numbers of patients and rising expectations. To best respond to these challenges, we need to have an understanding of current patient and service profiles. The findings of this study illustrate a range of patient, diagnostic and management variables in aged psychiatry practice. This information can be used for comparison with other services and in planning for future development of services.
本研究旨在描述一家大型老年精神病服务机构住院患者的人口统计学特征、诊断构成及患者管理方面的情况。
回顾性整理了3年期间住院病历和出院小结中的社会人口统计学及临床变量。对年龄、性别、出生国家、诊断组、住院时间、非自愿护理状态及入院次数进行了描述和分析。共有604名患者纳入研究，其中516名患者有完整数据。
约一半患者年龄在65 - 75岁之间，59.3%为女性。超过一半的患者出生在澳大利亚以外。主要诊断中，39.0%的入院患者为情感障碍，27.5%为痴呆，25.8%为精神疾病。中位住院时间为28天；60.8%的患者有过非自愿护理期，79.8%的患者仅入院一次。
在不久的将来，老年精神病服务将面临患者数量增加和期望提高的情况。为了最好地应对这些挑战，我们需要了解当前患者和服务概况。本研究结果说明了老年精神病学实践中的一系列患者、诊断和管理变量。这些信息可用于与其他服务进行比较，并为服务的未来发展进行规划。
