Table 1.
Comparison of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients admitted to the psychiatric emergency department (ED) during the “lockdown” and “post lockdown” period in 2020
| Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics | “Lockdown” (N = 668) |
“post lockdown” (N = 809) |
Chi-squared/t-test | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female Gender, N (%) | 345 (51.6) | 399 (49.3) | .792 | .373 |
| Current age, year, mean ± SD | 39.81 ± 16.71 | 40.13 ± 17.33 | .358 | .720 |
| Familial status, N (%) | ||||
| Unmarried/not in relationship | 387 (58.1) | 453 (56.2) | .577 | .902 |
| Married/in a relationship | 130 (19.5) | 168 (20.8) | ||
| Separated/divorced | 129 (19.3) | 159 (19.7) | ||
| Widowed | 21 (3.1) | 26 (3.3) | ||
| Residential status (where the patient comes from to be admitted to the ED), N (%) | ||||
| Private residence | 530 (79.3) | 645 (79.7) | 18.725 | <.001* |
| Foster home, hotel | 80 (12.1) | 91 (11.2) | ||
| Homeless | 53 (7.9) | 42 (5.2) | ||
| Migrants | 5 (0.7) | 31 (3.8) | ||
| Referral source, N (%) | ||||
| Private psychiatrist | 5 (0.7) | 4 (0.5) | 8.441 | .208 |
| General practitioner | 13 (1.9) | 28 (3.5) | ||
| HUG | 19 (2.8) | 18 (2.2) | ||
| Self-referral | 249 (37.3) | 305 (37.7) | ||
| Police | 75 (11.2) | 68 (8.4) | ||
| CAMSCO | 2 (0.1) | 4 (0.5) | ||
| By Ambulance | 305 (45.7) | 382 (47.2) | ||
| Urgency degree, according to EST®, N (%) | ||||
| Degree 1 | 126 (18.9) | 212 (26.2) | 11.474 | .009* |
| Degree 2 | 303 (45.4) | 336 (41.5) | ||
| Degree 3 | 206 (30.8) | 227 (28.1) | ||
| Degree 4 | 33 (4.9) | 34 (4.2) | ||
| Diagnosis, N (%) | ||||
| Psychotic episode | 31 (4.6) | 31 (3.8) | 49.333 | <.001* |
| Manic/hypomanic episode | 17 (2.5) | 11 (1.4) | ||
| Depression/anxiety | 175 (26.1) | 197 (24.4) | ||
| Suicidal behavior | 141 (21.1) | 210 (26.0) | ||
| Substance use disorder | 62 (9.3) | 52 (6.4) | ||
| Behavioral disorder | 126 (18.9) | 86 (10.6) | ||
| Psychomotor agitation | 52 (7.8) | 127 (15.7) | ||
| Somatic problem | 64 (9.7) | 95 (11.7) | ||
| Arrival hour, N (%) | ||||
| 8-19 h | 329 (49.3) | 413 (51.1) | .742 | .690 |
| 19-24 h | 206 (30.8) | 248 (30.7) | ||
| 24-8 h | 133 (19.9) | 148 (18.2) | ||
| Arrival day, N (%) | ||||
| Weekday | 465 (69.6) | 578 (71.4) | .594 | .441 |
| Weekend | 203 (30.4) | 231 (28.6) | ||
| Type of discharge (where the patient is referred at the time of discharge from the ED), N (%) | ||||
| Voluntary admission | 107 (16.0) | 90 (11.1) | 11.418 | .010* |
| Involuntary admission | 86 (12.9) | 130 (16.1) | ||
| Private residence | 396 (59.3) | 510 (63.0) | ||
| Others | 79 (11.8) | 79 (9.8) | ||
| Duration of visit, in hours mean ± SD | 6.46 ± 6.36 | 5.99 ± 5.51 | −1.528 | .127 |
Abbreviations: CAMSCO, Consultation Ambulatoire Mobile de Soins Communautaire; HUG, University Hospital of Geneva; * to p < .05. Familial status: missing data (N = 4)