Factors associated with the readmission of psychiatric patients in a town in eastern Antioquia in 2014

Abstract

Objective: Readmission of psychiatric patients refers to the need to readmit a patient due to the same cause for which he or she had been released. It is the result of recurrent decompensation and, when it has to do with a chronic mental pathology, readmission is due to sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, and personal background. The aim of this study is to explore the factors associated to the readmission of psychiatric patients cared for at Clínica San Juan de Dios in La Ceja, Antioquia, in 2014.

Metodology: Cross-sectional study. Sample of 218 patients readmitted at least once in acute care unit at Clínica San Juan de Dios during the study period. Relevant clinical and demographical characteristics were obtained and bivariate analysis was done using aforementioned characteristics with patients who had been readmitted at least twice.

Results: The most frequent diagnosis was bipolar affective disorder. Of the participants, 59.2% were women; the mean age was 39 years (range 15-75); 73.9% lived in urban areas; 24.3% came from dysfunctional families, 10.6% had dysfunctional marriage relationships, and 46.8% were released with a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder. Of patients, 43.3% were referred to counseling psychology upon release. The least number of relapses was one, while four was the maximum. The mean of hospital stay was 9.1 days (range 1-49). There was no statistical association between the variables studied and the outcome of interest.

Conclusions: There was no association between sociodemographic, clinical, or personal factors with recurrent readmission of the patients studied. Thus, we suggest cohort studies be conducted with larger samples in which more comparison groups are analyzed.