OBJECTIVE: The Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre (PECC) is a relatively recent service development that aims to improve emergency care of psychiatric patients. The goal of this paper was to report on the characteristics of admissions to a recently established PECC. METHOD: Several key characteristics of admissions to the PECC were documented for each of 376 patients in the first 6 months of its operation. These characteristics were then compared to the characteristics of admissions of 299 patients in the 'virtual' PECC (a PECC within the general emergency department) in the 6 months prior to the opening of the PECC. RESULTS: The most common presenting symptom in the PECC was suicidal ideation (47.6%, n = 179) and the most frequent diagnosis made in the PECC was adjustment disorder (35.9%, n = 135). When comparing admissions to the 'virtual' PECC, PECC admissions were characterized by a significantly less frequent use of physical restraint and haloperidol and midazolam as pro re nata (prn) medications. CONCLUSIONS: Although further study is needed, one possible advantage of the PECC may be a less frequent use of physical restraint and certain prn medications (i.e. haloperidol and midazolam) for agitated and aggressive patients.
OBJECTIVE: The Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre (PECC) is a relatively recent service development that aims to improve emergency care of psychiatricpatients. The goal of this paper was to report on the characteristics of admissions to a recently established PECC. METHOD: Several key characteristics of admissions to the PECC were documented for each of 376 patients in the first 6 months of its operation. These characteristics were then compared to the characteristics of admissions of 299 patients in the 'virtual' PECC (a PECC within the general emergency department) in the 6 months prior to the opening of the PECC. RESULTS: The most common presenting symptom in the PECC was suicidal ideation (47.6%, n = 179) and the most frequent diagnosis made in the PECC was adjustment disorder (35.9%, n = 135). When comparing admissions to the 'virtual' PECC, PECC admissions were characterized by a significantly less frequent use of physical restraint and haloperidol and midazolam as pro re nata (prn) medications. CONCLUSIONS: Although further study is needed, one possible advantage of the PECC may be a less frequent use of physical restraint and certain prn medications (i.e. haloperidol and midazolam) for agitated and aggressive patients.
Authors: Leonardo Baldaçara; Flávia Ismael; Verônica Leite; Lucas A Pereira; Roberto M Dos Santos; Vicente de P Gomes Júnior; Elie L B Calfat; Alexandre P Diaz; Cintia A M Périco; Deisy M Porto; Carlos E Zacharias; Quirino Cordeiro; Antônio Geraldo da Silva; Teng C Tung Journal: Braz J Psychiatry Date: 2018-12-06 Impact factor: 2.697