Electroconvulsive Therapy Use in Psychiatric Hospitalizations in Portugal: A Nationwide Descriptive Study.

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to describe a Portuguese nationwide epidemiological perspective on the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in hospitalized psychiatric patients. The secondary aims of the study were to characterize clinical and sociodemographic trends of hospitalized patients treated with ECT.

Methods: A retrospective-observational study was conducted using an administrative database gathering every registered Portuguese public hospital hospitalizations from 2008 to 2015.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Emergency Department Visits - A Descriptive Study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) has an important direct and indirect impact on both physical and mental health. We aim to describe the impact of an emergency state period due to COVID-19 on psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits. We conducted a retrospective observational study analysing all emergency visits occurring at a metropolitan psychiatric ED between March 19th and May 2nd 2019 and 2020 (the beginning/end date of the emergency state which Portugal was under due to COVID-19).