Relationship between whether the planned discharge destination is decided and locomotive syndrome for admitted patients in psychiatric long-term care wards.

OBJECTIVE

We focused on locomotive syndrome as a low physical function factor that may prevent patients with psychiatric disease from being discharged. The purpose of this study is to clarify the factors, including locomotive syndrome, that prevent discharge from psychiatric long-term care wards.

METHOD

We enrolled 74 patients who were admitted to psychiatric long-term care wards at three different hospitals in Japan. Nurses or medical social workers in the ward were asked whether the planned discharge destination had been decided, and patients were categorized into a decided group and an undecided group. Outcome measures were age, sex, F code in the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders, length of stay, chlorpromazine equivalent dose of antipsychotics, locomotive syndrome test scores (25-question GLFS, two-step test, stand-up test), and Barthel Index.

RESULTS

Based on the multivariate logistic regression analysis results, the length of stay and the two-step test score significantly explained the difference between the two groups. The odds ratio of a length of stay greater than 10 years was 8.42 times that of a length of stay less than 2 years (P=0.012, 95% CI=1.59, 44.53). Regarding the twostep test, the odds ratio for obtaining stage 2 was 10.62 times that for obtaining stage 0 (P=0.013, 95% CI=1.65, 68.23).

CONCLUSION

Those who with longer length of stays and lower two-step test scores tended not to be decided the planned discharge destination.