The authors have tried this pilot study to investigate the differencies by sex of the psychiatric charscteristics of the patients who visited emergency room.
The subject in this study composed of 667 psychiatric patients who visited emergency room of Pildong Hospital and Yongsan Hospital, Chang-Ang University Medical Center from June 1991 to May 1992.
Patient records were reviewed for demographic data(age, residence), mode of arrival(time, season, and accompanying person), disposition, manner of discharge and clinical features(causes of visit, symptoms, precipitating factors and psychiatric
diagnosis) as dependent variables.
Data were analyzed by chi-square test using SPSS/PC+.
In analysis, there were significant differencies in variables such as accompanying person, disposition, manner of discharge, causes of visit, symptoms, precipitating factors and diagnosis.
@ES The summaries of the results were as follows:
@EN 1) The most frequent accompanying persons were their families and others in both male and female group, but the number of patients who visited emergency room by themselves were higher in male group.
2) the rate of admission was higher in male group, on the other hand, the rate of OPD follow up was higher in female group.
3) The rate of discharge against medical advice was higher in female group.
4) Neurotic symptoms were the most prevalent causes of visit in both male and female group, but drug use was more prevalent in male group and acute psychotic symptoms were more prevalent in female group.
5) Somatic symptoms and depressive symptoms were more prevalent in female group, on the other hand, anxiety symptoms and psychotic symptoms were more prevalent in male group.
6) economic problems were more prevalent precipitants of psychiatric symptoms in male group, on the other hand, marital problems were more prevalent precipitants of psychiatric symptoms in female group.
7) Anxiety disorder and drug use disorder were more prevalent diagnosis in male group, on the other hand, somatoform disorder and mood disorder were more prevalent diagnosis in female group.
The results will be helpful to the clinicians, who work in the emergency room, in making diagnosis and treatment decesions more accurately.
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