Study	Reason for exclusion
Appleby 1993	Allocation: not randomised - retrospective study.
Caffey 1968	Allocation: quasi randomised ’assigned in rotation to one of three groups’. Participants: people with schizophrenia. Interventions: brief intensive care (21 day admission) versus standard hospitalisation (discharged at doctor’s discretion) Quasi-randomised - data used in sensitivity analysis.
Hafner 1986	Allocation: not randomised - cohort study.
Lehrman 1961	Allocation: not randomised - cohort study.
May 1968	Allocation: randomised. Participants: people with schizophrenia. Intervention: individual psychotherapy versus ataraxic drugs versus individual psychotherapy plus ataraxic drugs versus ECT versus no extra treatment. Outcome: length of stay and other outcomes.
Mendel 1966	Allocation: not randomised - cohort study.
Olfson 1990	Allocation: not randomised, from emergency room by nurse and psychiatrist ’according to need and bed availability’. Intervention: very brief (crisis) in-patient stay (less than 5 days) versus short term stays (21 days)
Rosen 1976	Allocation: assigned on admission on a ’first come first served basis, by date of application and availability of beds’ - quasi randomised. Participants: people with functional and organic brain syndromes. Interventions: short term admission (< 3 months) versus long term admission (clinical judgment) Quasi randomised - data used in sensitivity analysis.
Singer 1975	Allocation: not randomised - retrospective cohort.

DSM-III - Diagnostic Statistical Manual version 3.