Disposition of emergency department patients with psychiatric comorbidity: results from the 2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Background: Few emergency department (ED) studies have examined how psychiatric comorbidity relates to hospitalisation decisions.

Methods: We assessed the relationship of psychiatric comorbidity to hospitalisation decisions among ED patients in the 2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Results: Patients with psychiatric comorbidity were five times more likely to be hospitalised than patients with a single psychiatric diagnosis.