Pathological gambling and the psychiatric emergency service

Pathological gambling (PG) has been associated with several negative mental health outcomes. We attempted to assess the impact of PG at the level of the psychiatric emergency service (PES).

In a first trial, clinical and demographic data were acquired from patients visiting the PES of a major university teaching hospital in downtown Montreal from July 1, 1996, to December 31, 2000. In a second trial, data were simultaneously acquired for a 2-year period in the above PES and in 3 others, beginning in September 2002.

In the first trial, from 2000 onward, the number of visits by PG patients to the PES increased by over 50%. In the second trial, the high level of PES use observed from 2000 onward in the first trial was similarly observed at all 4 PESs. The clinical and demographic characteristics of these patients were typical of help-seeking PG patients. They were, however, significantly less likely to be frequent users of the PES or to be hospitalized.

Although still manageable, the clinical impact of PG on the PES increased significantly during the course of this study.