title: Immediate clinical assessment of medical intervention in schizophrenic patients admitted to an acute-care psychiatric unit: a retrospective, naturalistic and multicenter study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to assess whether an early improvement of symptoms had an impact on the length of hospital stay in patients with schizophrenia admitted to acute-care psychiatric/short-stay units in routine daily practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  A naturalistic, retrospective and multicenter study was designed to examine the immediate clinical assessment (day 5 and at discharge) of the medical intervention of schizophrenia in 1346 patients requiring in-patient care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intensification of psychotic symptoms was due to non-adherence to antipsychotic medication (67%), lack of efficacy of treatment (27%), and substance use (24%). Patients treated with antipsychotics increased from 78.7% before hospitalization to almost 100% at discharge. There was an increase in the percentage of symptom-free patients after 5 days of treatment as compared with the day 1 (6.2 vs. 10.1%). The mean (standard deviation, SD) scores of the Clinical Global Impression scale decreased from 5.3 (0.9) on admission to 4.3 (1.2) on day 5 and 3.0 (1.1) at hospital discharge. At discharge, symptoms had improved in 86.3% of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Improvement of symptoms on day 3, male sex, active working status, voluntary, and use of benzodiazepines during in-patient care were significantly associated with hospital discharge.
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. lsan@hsjdbcn.org
authors: Luis
authors: L
authors: San
authors: Gabriel
authors: G
authors: Rubio
authors: Iván
authors: I
authors: Bernardo-Fernández
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines