Clinical and demographic changes over ten years on a psychogeriatric inpatient unit

The authors examined the clinical and demographic characteristics of 198 admissions to a psychogeriatric inpatient unit at two points a decade apart (1988 and 1998). Current patients were more likely to have a primary diagnosis of dementia and to have been admitted for agitation or psychosis. They also were older, taking more psychiatric medication on discharge, had shorter lengths of stay, and were less likely to be discharged home. These changes in presenting symptomatology, primary psychiatric diagnosis, and demographics on a geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit have implications for the delivery of treatment on such units.