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Hospitalisation for schizophrenia in acute psychiatric wards of the Lazio region: a 4-year follow-up study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2011

Andrea Gaddini*
Affiliation:
Agenzia di Sanità Pubblica della Regione Lazio, Roma
Francesco Franco
Affiliation:
Agenzia di Sanità Pubblica della Regione Lazio, Roma
Domenico Di Lallo
Affiliation:
Agenzia di Sanità Pubblica della Regione Lazio, Roma
Lilia Biscaglia
Affiliation:
Agenzia di Sanità Pubblica della Regione Lazio, Roma
*
Address for correspondence: Dr. A. Gaddini. Unità Operativa Salute Mentale, Agenzia di Sanità Pubblica della Regione Lazio, Via di Santa Costanza 53, 00198, Roma. Fax: +39-06-830-60.463 E-mail: gaddini@asplazio.it

Summary

Aim – To determine the rates of psychiatric hospitalisation and to evaluate the predictors of readmissions in a cohort of 887 schizophrenic patients at their “first” psychiatric admission. Methods – Data were collected using the hospital dis-charge database of the Lazio region, Italy. The cohort included patients admitted to a psychiatric ward in 1999, with a main diagnosis of schizophrenia and no prior psychiatric hospitalisation during the 5 years preceding the index admission. Psychiatric read-missions were considered up to year 2004. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and logistic procedures were performed to estimate the cumulative readmission incidence and ORs of readmissions for potential confounders. Results – During the 4-year follow-up, 44.3% of the patients were readmitted at least once. An active treatment among community psychiatric facilities at the time of index admission predicted a higher readmission risk. However, for those who experienced their first admission in a private ward read-mission risk was consistently higher, whether or not having had such a treatment. Conclusions – Risk of readmission in a psychiatric ward appears to be related to the level of integration with mental health community facilities, while length of stay is strongly affected by service system variables. Possible uses of medical information systems in this field are described.

Declaration of Interest: none.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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References

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