Abstract

FRANCO VASQUEZ, José Gabriel  and  GAVIRIA GOMEZ, Ana Milena. Epidemiological and Clinical Profile of Hospitalized Patients in the Psychiatric Clinic “Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón” during September 2003-Medellín.. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2004, vol.33, n.4, pp.378-389. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction and objective: Hospitalization is fundamental in the treatment of severe psychiatric disorders, the health service';s knowledge about it';s target population is basic for planning attention, education and investigation. Information from every institution is useful to conform the national epidemiological map. This paper describes the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of acute patients hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. Materials and methods: Descriptive research, using secondary information sources (clinical histories) of patients hospitalized in September of 2003. SPSS 10 software was used for data analysis. Results: The mean age was 36,9 years (DE 15,1), 22 (32,4%) patients were men and 46 (67,6%) women, mostly (63,2%) from Medellín. The most frequent diagnosis were: major depressive disorder, 22 (23,4%) patients; bipolar disorder, 27 (39,7%); psychotic disorders, 14 (20,6%). The mean length of stay was 8,8 days (DE 5,3). Conclusion: Most of the patients were adult middle age women with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, from Medellín, making it easier to include them in out-patient care programs including cognitive behavior therapy and psycho-education.

Keywords : Psychiatric hospitals; epidemiology; mental disorders; mood disorders; psychotic disorders.

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