COVID-19 Related Fears of Patients Admitted to a Psychiatric Emergency Department during and Post-Lockdown in Switzerland: Preliminary Findings to Look Ahead for Tailored Preventive Mental Health Strategies

Background and Objectives: While the impact on mental health of 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) has been extensively documented, little is known about its influence on subjective fears. Here, we investigate the COVID-19 impact and its related restrictions on fears of patients admitted to a psychiatric Emergency Department (ED) during and post-lockdown. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study on 1477 consultations at the psychiatric ED of the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG) was performed using a mixed-methods analysis. The first analysis section was qualitative, aiming to explore the type of fears, while the second section statistically compared fears (i) during lockdown (16 March 2020–10 May 2020) and (ii) post-lockdown (11 May 2020–5 July 2020). Fears were also explored among different patient-age sub-groups. Results: 334 patients expressed one/more fears. Both in lockdown and post-lockdown, fears mostly pertained to “containment measures” (isolation, loneliness). When compared lockdown vs. post-lockdown, fears about “work status” (deteriorating, losing work) prevailed in lockdown (p = 0.029) while “hopelessness” (powerless feeling, inability to find solutions) in post-lockdown (p = 0.001). “Self around COVID-19” (dying, getting sick) fear was relatively more frequent in youth (p = 0.039), while “hopelessness” in the elderly (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Collectively, these findings highlight that lockdown/post-lockdown periods generated temporally and demographically distinct COVID-19 related fears patterns, with special regard to youth and elderly, two particularly vulnerable populations when faced with sudden and unexpected dramatic events. For this reason, the particular ED “front-line service” status makes it a privileged observatory that can provide novel insights. From a mental health perspective, these latter can be translated into pragmatic, more personalized prevention strategies to reinforce specific resilience resources and mitigate the current and long-term pandemic’s impact.

Which Emergent Medication Should I Give Next? Repeated Use of Emergent Medications to Treat Acute Agitation

Agitation is a common symptom encountered among patients treated in psychiatric emergency settings. While there are many guidelines available for initial management of the acutely agitated patient, there is a notable dearth of guidelines that delineate recommended approaches to the acutely agitated patient in whom an initial medication intervention has failed. This manuscript aims to fill this gap by examining evidence available in the literature and providing clinical algorithms suggested by the authors for sequential medication administration in patients with persistent acute agitation in psychiatric emergency settings. We discuss risk factors for medication-related adverse events and provide options for patients who are able to take oral medications and for patients who require parenteral intervention. We conclude with a discussion of the current need for well-designed studies that examine sequential medication options in patients with persistent acute agitation.

St. Vincent's Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre: an Evaluation of a Nurse-Led Service

<p>Australia, like many other countries that adopted deinstitutionalisation is experiencing increased presentation at emergency departments (EDs) by patients with acute mental health and addiction needs. While different models of psychiatric emergency care have been utilised within EDs little is known about the effectiveness of the care provided or how they work on a day-to-day basis. Psychiatric Emergency Care Centres (PECCs) is one of these new initiatives. PECCs aim to improve patient flow in urban EDs by providing a rapid pathway to specialist mental health assessment and care. St Vincent hospital in Sydney opened a 6 bed PECC service in 2005. It is co-located with ED and staffed 24 hours a day by registered mental health nurses supported by psychiatric and emergency teams. The service has two components - a short term stay unit and an ED liaison role. The nurses work closely with community mental health teams, inpatient units, general practitioners, non-government agencies and other hospitals. This thesis evaluated the organisational and operational aspects of this PECC service using a processimpact evaluation. Documents, existing clinical records and interviews with nurses in the PECC and ED and with a consumer representative were used as data sources to describe the service and identify what was working well and what could be improved. The research found that the service has provided additional resources and collaboration between ED and mental health services. In addition the research found that PECC is an effective service catering to the needs of consumers and providing access to mental health specialist clinicians. Since PECC was established there has been an increase in assessments conducted within the ED and an increase in the numbers presenting to ED for mental health reasons from 2833 in 2006 to 4987 in 2008, but the number of admissions to PECC have remained relatively stable at 693 and 714. Aspects of the service that worked well included the rapid assessment and management of acutely unwell people by the PECC nurses. Aspects that were problematic concerned the ability of the service to address social issues and the management of people with behavioural, alcohol, substance intoxication or selfharm behaviours. Areas for enhancing the service include being more consumers responsive, increasing the skills and knowledge of staff and undertaking further research regarding the needs of people who use the service.</p>

St. Vincent's Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre: an Evaluation of a Nurse-Led Service

<p>Australia, like many other countries that adopted deinstitutionalisation is experiencing increased presentation at emergency departments (EDs) by patients with acute mental health and addiction needs. While different models of psychiatric emergency care have been utilised within EDs little is known about the effectiveness of the care provided or how they work on a day-to-day basis. Psychiatric Emergency Care Centres (PECCs) is one of these new initiatives. PECCs aim to improve patient flow in urban EDs by providing a rapid pathway to specialist mental health assessment and care. St Vincent hospital in Sydney opened a 6 bed PECC service in 2005. It is co-located with ED and staffed 24 hours a day by registered mental health nurses supported by psychiatric and emergency teams. The service has two components - a short term stay unit and an ED liaison role. The nurses work closely with community mental health teams, inpatient units, general practitioners, non-government agencies and other hospitals. This thesis evaluated the organisational and operational aspects of this PECC service using a processimpact evaluation. Documents, existing clinical records and interviews with nurses in the PECC and ED and with a consumer representative were used as data sources to describe the service and identify what was working well and what could be improved. The research found that the service has provided additional resources and collaboration between ED and mental health services. In addition the research found that PECC is an effective service catering to the needs of consumers and providing access to mental health specialist clinicians. Since PECC was established there has been an increase in assessments conducted within the ED and an increase in the numbers presenting to ED for mental health reasons from 2833 in 2006 to 4987 in 2008, but the number of admissions to PECC have remained relatively stable at 693 and 714. Aspects of the service that worked well included the rapid assessment and management of acutely unwell people by the PECC nurses. Aspects that were problematic concerned the ability of the service to address social issues and the management of people with behavioural, alcohol, substance intoxication or selfharm behaviours. Areas for enhancing the service include being more consumers responsive, increasing the skills and knowledge of staff and undertaking further research regarding the needs of people who use the service.</p>