[Brief psychiatric hospitalization: a possible way, a strategy to evolve?]

The process of disinstitutionalization combined with the economic reality is responsible for the great upheaval in taking care of psychiatric patients. The repercussions are worldwide, national, and local concerning the Philippe Pinel Psychiatric Hospital (Amiens, Somme) place of this work. So the psychiatrists of this institution have to do with the following datas: a reduction of the admissions between 1991 et 1998 (around 1,5%) and a provided reduction of the hospitalization capacities upper to 40% for the following two years! Then the connection with these two figures requires the development of new therapeutic strategies, with the existing means. In this peculiar context, a study has been carried on over 2 years: 49 psychiatric patients who benefited from a brief hospitalization (less than 48 hours) have been followed up. The interest proceeds from the high frequency of the type of clinical situation which concerns 12,5% of the admissions in the studied psychiatric department. In the same time, a pilot group of 49 patients has been drawn lots among all the admissions during the same time: patients who benefited from a more traditional hospitalization (about twelve days), with strictly a same psychiatric diagnosis as in the first group, using the ICD 10 classification. The emphasis was focussed on the patient's psychiatric curing process into the 2 groups; we have compared the item rehospitalizations in a psychiatric hospital (through the number of rehospitalization, the number of days of rehospitalization, and the necessity - or not - of a rehospitalization) with the object of estimating the benefit, the inefficiency, or even the negligence of proposing a brief hospitalization. We have also studied socio-environmental datas, antecedents and effective psychiatric follow-up into the two groups. Concerning the diagnosis, mental disorders related to alcohol abuse (F10) are the most frequent (49%) into the group brief hospitalization , which diverges from the usual results taking account hospitalizations in psychiatric services. Then we have found personality disorders (14,3%), schizophrenia (12%), adaptation disorders (10,2%), anxiety (8,2%) and opiated abuse (4,3%). By that very fact, the pilot group allows exactly the same diagnosis. There's no significant difference concerning number of hospitalizations or number of days of rehospitalization; there is even a tendency in favour of patients who have been hospitalized less than 2 days: an other hospitalization is not as frequent as in the pilot group, without any exacerbation of their pathology (no less sight of patients, same number of death). It's important to emphasize that this benefit isn't related to less severe pathology for the first group: there can be a comparison between psychiatric antecedents and seniority of mental troubles. By another way, socio-environmental datas (age, sex, social and family positions) are homogenous. Lastly, circumstances of the hospitalization - inclusion between the groups are similar: same origin of the patients, who have required themselves their admission (it means the knowledge of the psychiatric hospital, distinctly one or more previous hospitalizations). The contacts with the entourage of the patients have been managed in the same way with the same results, and medical follow-up after having left hospital were identical. So we come to the conclusion that in spite of the apparent slight of this strategy, there can be a comparison between this kind of aid and a more traditional hospitalization, in many clinical situations, all the more when the emphasis is laid on the patients psychiatric curing process. Consequently a brief hospitalization can be considered as a possible therapeutic strategy. Two facts command attention now: we must clearly define the type of patients who have really benefited of this brief hospitalization, with the object of being able to plan this strategy. By another way, it seems that a brief hospitalization, just like any hospitalization, is one part of our patients curing process for the two groups. Therefore, the choice of a psychiatric hospitalization becomes a debatable point, through the treatment of a psychiatric emergency.