Choking incidents among psychiatric patients: retrospective analysis of thirty-one cases from the west Bologna psychiatric wards.

Objective: To determine the rate of choking incidents among the psychiatric population of 4 inpatient facilities, classifying the incidents according to their probable etiology.

Method: All incidents recorded over 18 months were retrospectively analyzed for demographic variables, psychiatric and medical diagnoses, and drug therapy at the time of incident. Where possible, patients underwent psychiatric, neurological, and medical examination.