Efficacy of routine admission urinalyses in psychiatric hospitals

The clinical efficacy of routine admission urinalyses was evaluated in 515 patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Two staff psychiatrists reviewed the patients' charts to determine which test resulted in diagnostic or therapeutic management changes. Abnormalities were found in 40 (7.8%) of the cases, but only four (0.8%) of the routine urinalyses affected patient therapy. It is concluded that routine admission urinalysis has very little impact on the care of psychiatric patients and that there is little justification for ordering this test on all patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals.