Patients who do Well and who do Less Well in an Inpatient Adolescent Unit

Objective: The primary aim of the study was to investigate whether patient characteristics such as age, sex, length of inpatient stay and reason for admission were related to positive or negative treatment outcome at an adolescent inpatient unit. Method: This study employed a prospective cohort design in the form of a clinical audit. Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) pre- and post-admission scores were compared for the whole sample and across diagnoses. Results: While there was a significant reduction overall in symptoms following an inpatient stay, patient characteristics and reason for admission were not related to outcomes at a statistically significant level. Conclusions: This inpatient unit generally functions as a short stay unit and as a result it is difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions as to what sort of patient would benefit most from an admission to the unit.

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Deliberate Self-Poisoning Presenting to an Emergency Medicine Network in South-East Melbourne: A Descriptive Study

Emergency Medicine International ◽

10.1155/2014/461841 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Asheq Rahman ◽

Catherine Martin ◽

Andis Graudins ◽

Rose Chapman

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Emergency Medicine ◽

Length Of Stay ◽

Clinical Audit ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Patient Characteristics ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Short Stay ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

The Mean

Background. Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) comprises a small but significant proportion of presentations to the emergency department (ED). However, the prevalence and patient characteristics of self-poisoning attendances to EDs in Victoria have not been recently characterised.Aim. To identify and compare the characteristics of adult patients presenting to the three EDs of Monash Health following DSP.Methods. Retrospective clinical audit of adult DSP attendances between 1st July 2009 and 30th June 2012.Results. A total of 3558 cases over three years were identified fulfilling the search criteria. The mean age of patients was 36.3 years with the largest numbers aged between 18 and 30 (38%). About 30% of patients were born overseas. Forty-eight percent were discharged home, 15% were admitted to ED short stay units, and 5% required ICU admission. The median ED length of stay was 359 minutes (IQR 231–607). The most frequently reported substances in DSP were benzodiazepines (36.6%), paracetamol (22.2%), and antipsychotics (12.1%). Exposure to more than one substance for the episode of DSP was common (47%).Conclusion. This information may help identify the trends in poisoning substances used for DSP in Victoria, which in turn may provide clinicians with information to provide more focused and targeted interventions.

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A profile of adolescents admitted to a private inpatient unit and mental health outcomes

Australasian Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1039856219875068 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 563-567 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Claire Hayes ◽

Magenta Simmons ◽

Victoria J Palmer ◽

Bridget Hamilton ◽

Christine Simons ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Treatment Outcomes ◽

Models Of Care ◽

Primary Diagnosis ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Inpatient Unit ◽

Emotional Symptoms ◽

Global Functioning ◽

Cohort Design ◽

Adolescent Inpatient ◽

The Mean

Objective: To characterise adolescents admitted to a voluntary adolescent inpatient unit and investigate treatment outcomes. Method: A retrospective cohort design was employed. Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for Children and Adolescents (HoNOSCA) pre- and post-admission scores were collected, measuring global functioning. Demographic variables such as age, gender, primary diagnosis, comorbidity and length of stay (LOS) were analysed. Data were collected from May 2017 to April 2018. All adolescents admitted to the inpatient unit were included. Results: The majority of adolescents ( n = 72; HoNOSCA data available on n = 57) were 16 years of age (26%), female (82%) and with a primary diagnosis of a mood disorder (57%). Most adolescents improved at the time of discharge. Self-injury and emotional symptoms had greater reductions according to clinician and adolescent-self-ratings ( p < 0.01). Mean change (improvement) in HoNOSCA total score was 7.3 (SD 7.5) based on clinician ratings and 7.2 (SD 9.5) for adolescent-self-ratings. The mean LOS was 28 days (SD 15.8). Conclusions: The inpatient unit proved effective at meeting the needs of young people in terms of symptom stabilisation. Further research is needed to describe adolescent inpatient models of care, the operations and philosophies to better examine how these relate to treatment outcomes.

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