Dragovic Milan, Pascu Viki, Hall Tammy, Ingram Jesse, Waters Flavie
North Metropolitan Health Service, Mental Health, Clinical Research Centre, Australia.
Division of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, the University of Western Australia, Australia.
Australas Psychiatry. 2020 Dec;28(6):627-631. doi: 10.1177/1039856220960673. Epub 2020 Sep 22.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to high levels of psychological distress in the community. This study aimed to examine whether emergency departments (EDs) also recorded a rise in mental health presentations.
Changes in the number, and type, of mental health presentations to Western Australia EDs were examined between January and May 2020, and compared to 2019.
Data showed an unexpected decrease in the number of mental health presentations, compared to 2019, which was temporally coincident with the rise in local COVID-19 cases. Presentations for anxiety and panic symptoms, and social and behavioural issues, increased by 11.1% and 6.5%, respectively, but suicidal and self-harm behaviours decreased by 26%.
A rise in local COVID-19 cases was associated with a decrease in mental health presentations to EDs. This has important implications for the planning and provision of healthcare services in the current pandemic.
冠状病毒病（COVID - 19）已在社区中导致了高度的心理困扰。本研究旨在调查急诊科（EDs）是否也记录到心理健康就诊人数有所增加。
对2020年1月至5月期间西澳大利亚州急诊科心理健康就诊的数量和类型变化进行了调查，并与2019年进行了比较。
数据显示，与2019年相比，心理健康就诊人数出现意外下降，这在时间上与当地COVID - 19病例数的上升相吻合。焦虑和恐慌症状以及社会和行为问题的就诊人数分别增加了11.1%和6.5%，但自杀和自残行为减少了26%。
当地COVID - 19病例数的上升与急诊科心理健康就诊人数的减少有关。这对当前大流行期间医疗服务的规划和提供具有重要意义。
