[THE CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS WHO FREQUENT THE PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY ROOM IN A GENERAL HOSPITAL].

Introduction: The recent policy implemented in Israel of reducing psychiatric admissions and the concomitant shifting of treatment to outpatient clinics, together with briefer stays in hospital and a growing number of repeat emergency room (ER) visits have created a "revolving door" phenomenon, whereby a small number of frequent attenders are responsible for a disproportionate fraction of ER visits.

Objectives: To characterize psychiatric ER frequent attenders and understand their special needs by analyzing the "revolving door" phenomenon and defining the at-risk group.

Methods: Psychiatric attenders at the Ha'Emek Medical Center in Afula during a single year were divided retrospectively into three groups according to the number of their visits to the ER. One group had a single ER visit, an intermediate group had two to three ER visits, and a third group had four or more ER visits (frequent attenders). The groups were weighted by the respective number of attenders and analyzed using the optimal allocation technique.

Results And Conclusions: The findings showed that people prone to frequently repeat visits to a psychiatric emergency room are familiar with the psychiatric system, unemployed, with an unstable income (or recipients of an allowance from the National Insurance), single or divorced, of Sephardic origin, have been hospitalized in the past, and are urban, native-born with social and family problems. From a clinical perspective the findings also showed thatthis subgroup comes to the ER without a referral, suffers from depression and psychotic states, personality disorders or mental retardation, has past suicide attempts, and the patients are under medication treatment.

Discussion And Summary: Frequent attenders make up a particularly difficult group of patients with major psychiatric disorders. The ER is not a fit setting for the treatment of such patients. The construction of a proper therapist-patient relationship is cardinal to attaining a meaningful remission. Prompt recognition of frequent attenders and their respective visiting pattern is required, allowing for a structured therapeutic approach which will include patient and family guidance and an algorithmic handling of emergency situations.