Hirsch 1979*.

Methods	Allocation: 'at random' ‐ no further details. Blinding: none. Duration: 1 year. Setting: central London, UK.
Participants	Diagnosis: 'functional psychiatric disorder'. N = 224. History: just admitted. Age: >16 years. Sex: brief group = 47% males, standard group = 40% males. Excluded: outside catchment, < 16 years, organic brain syndrome.
Interventions	1. Brief admission: discharge planned in < 8 days + community day care. N = 115. 2. Standard admission: discharged at carers discretion. N = 109.
Outcomes	Leaving the study early. Unable to use ‐ Service outcomes: readmission. (> 50% loss to follow‐up). Mental state: PSE (no SD). Economic outcomes. (no data). Behaviour: PBAS (details not published).
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	High risk	Quote: "immediately on admission, patients were allocated at random... allocation was done the moment the patients were admitted to avoid any possibility of bias...". These were the only references to randomisation in the methodology. There is no reference to any process of random sequence generation.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	High risk	There was no process of allocation concealment described in the methodology.
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	The study did not utilise single or double blinding during allocation or treatment.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	15% of eligible participants were missed or excluded because of failure to obtain or complete an interview. 20% of eligible participants assigned to one or the other group were excluded because they left hospital in less than four days.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No details.
Other bias	Unclear risk	None detected.