A Clinical Study on Neuropsychiatric Patients Admitted Via the Emergency Room

Hospital records of neuropsychiatric patients admitted to Ewha Womans University Hospital via the emergency room from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1986 were reviewed, and the following results were obtained. 1) Patients admitted via the emergency room comprised 6.65% of total neuropsychiatric admission The rate of emergency admission were 3.98% at 1982, 3.48% at 1983, 8.5% at 1984, 7.9% at 1985, 9.4% at 1986 which seems increasing tendency. 2) The male : female sex ratio of the patients was 1 : 1.03. 43% of the emergency room admission patients were in their twenties and 20% of the patients were thirties, 63% of them were in their twenties or thirties. 3) 82% of them were in the middle class of socioeconomic level, 46% of the patients had college education level and 51% of them were married status. 4) Presenting problems, in the order of frequency, were delusion and hallucination, somaticsymptom, anxiety and phobia, exciting and assultive behavior, convulsion, suicide attempt, behavior disorder, sleeping disturbance, consciousness disorder and homicide tendency. 5) In most cases the duration of hospitalization was 2 weeks or less for neurosis and over 2 weeks in schizophernic disorders. 6) 21.5% of the emergency room patients were diagnosed as schizophrenic disorder which was the most frequent diagnosis in all patients. 7) 23% of the emergency room patients were discharged against medical advice.