| Popis: |
Background : Length of stay (LOS) on admission to psychiatric intensive care in the UK varies widely, with few studies examining the relationship of LOS to clinical outcomes. Data from two South London male PICUs delivering care with the contrasting philosophies of rapid turnover versus slower stepdown were investigated to determine if additional LOS correlated with clinical benefit.Method : Data on admissions to the PICUs were collected over six months and assessed for outliers and then for variance using Levene's test. The variables were compared using independent samples t-tests. Pearson correlations were also calculated for the major variables.Results : Mean LOS was 8.4 days higher on PICU 1 (p = 0.026) and readmission rates to hospital 6 months post discharge were 27% higher on PICU 1 (p = 0.025). There were no strong correlations between LOS on either PICU and the other five variables examined.Conclusion : It was intuitive to expect better outcomes in the PICU with a slower turnover where complex patients could receive an extended period of re-evaluation of pharmacological treatments and engagement with services and could achieve a fuller recovery from the episode. However, this group had no reduction in LOS following step-down to the wards, readmission rates to PICU during in the index episode or re-hospitalisation six months following discharge. The PICU with a policy of rapid-turnover, concentrating on reducing acuity and risk and rapid step down, was equally effective on the measures evaluated. |
