Clinical trial NCT00184119: Effects of a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit
Official title: Effects of a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit in an Acute Psychiatric Department.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Mental Disorders
Keywords: Emergency services, psychiatric
Intensive care units
Hospitals, psychiatric
Aggression
Violence
Lead sponsor: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: St. Olavs Hospital
First posted: 2005-09-16
Enrollment: 118
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 110
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of the study is to compare the effects of using or not using a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in an acute psychiatric department.

Detailed description: The main aim of the study is to compare the effects of using or not using a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in an acute psychiatric department.The acute ward of Østmarka psychiatric department, St. Olavs Hospital has a PICU separated from the rest of the ward. The PICU is separated with a locked door. Under two different conditions at different times all patients evaluated to be in need of PICU were admitted to the PICU. In the first condition the doors inside the PICU and between the rest of the acute ward and PICU were closed or locked. In the second condition the doors inside the PICU and the door between the PICU and the rest of the acute ward were either removed or held permanently open. In the second condition the patients thus were admitted to a PICU unit not using PICU principles.

The patients were evaluated with different rating scales at admittance, day three and at discharge from PICU.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* All patients admitted to Østmarka psychiatric department, St. Olavs Hospital in need of a PICU.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with dementia or mental retardation to an extensive degree.
* Patients not speaking Norwegian or English.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Length of stay in Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
timeFrame: 3 days
measure: Symptoms of psychopathology
timeFrame: 3 days
measure: Violent or threatening incidents
timeFrame: 3 days
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Therapeutic steps and nurses' interventions
timeFrame: 3 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Trondheim
country: Norway
facility: Østmarka Psychiatric Department, St. Olavs Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
name: Olav M Linaker, Professor
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Vaaler AE, Morken G, Flovig JC, Iversen VC, Linaker OM. Effects of a psychiatric intensive care unit in an acute psychiatric department. Nord J Psychiatry. 2006;60(2):144-9. doi: 10.1080/08039480600583472.
citation: Vaaler AE, Iversen VC, Morken G, Flovig JC, Palmstierna T, Linaker OM. Short-term prediction of threatening and violent behaviour in an Acute Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit based on patient and environment characteristics. BMC Psychiatry. 2011 Mar 18;11:44. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-11-44.