Screening for depression in emergency department patients.
BACKGROUND
Depression is a common disease, yet it is not commonly studied in the Emergency Medicine literature.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of emergency department (ED) patients who have the symptoms of depression.


METHODS
This was a prospective observational study performed at two EDs over a 9-month period. Adult patients were screened for depression symptoms by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4(th) edition criteria.


RESULTS
There were 505 patients screened from April through December, 2004. Of the 505 patients, 109 (21.6%) screened positive for the symptoms of depression. The prevalence of positive screens was similar at each ED.


CONCLUSIONS
About 1 in 5 ED patients may be suffering with depression.
Hoyer
David
D
Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
David
Elizabeth
E
D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology