The use of constant observation in general hospitals.

This study reports data describing a population of general hospital patients whose behavioral management required the use of constant observation (CO). In this retrospective chart review, the mean number of days of CO per patient was 3.8, with a median of 2.0 and a standard deviation of 14.8. The longest number of days of CO was twenty-four. The types of patients placed on CO included medically complicated suicide attempters, male trauma patients with personality disorder and substance abuse, elderly patients with delirium, patients in delirium tremens, and medical patients with concurrent severe psychiatric disorders. The majority of patients on CO had no psychiatric history. The clinical data presented provide a basis for policy development, as well as recommendations for financial and medicolegal management of this population.