Analysis of transfers from a medical-psychiatry inpatient unit to a medical-surgical unit within 48 hours of admission.
BACKGROUND
Clinical screening of patients being presented for admission to a medical-psychiatric unit (MPU) is important to ensure safe, timely, and effective treatment.


OBJECTIVE
Authors determined demographic and clinical characteristics of patients accepted for admission to a private MPU and who required transfer to medical-surgical units within 48 hours of admission.


METHODS
Medical records of 1,583 consecutive admissions to the MPU were reviewed. The charts of patients transferred to a higher level of medical or surgical care within 48 hours were evaluated to categorize the reasons for transfers, and these were assessed for preventability.


RESULTS
Thirty patients (1.9%) required transfer to a medical-surgical unit. Reasons for transfer included pulmonary, cardiovascular, endocrine, and neurological etiologies. Most transfers (66.6%) were not foreseeable because symptom-onset was after admission.


CONCLUSIONS
Inappropriate MPU admissions may have been avoided by more vigilant screening for pulmonary, cardiovascular, electrolyte, and infectious disorders.
Passov
Victoria
V
Dept. of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, 1115 2nd St. NW, Rochester, MN 55901, USA. passov.victoria@mayo.edu
Rundell
James R
JR
D016304:Hospitals, Private / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008910:Minnesota; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013503:Surgery Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*