Involuntary hospitalizations at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka before and during the covid pandemic

Postupak za prisilne hospitalizacije propisan je ZZODS-om i namijenjen osobama s težim duševnim smetnjama koje predstavljaju rizik za sebe ili okolinu. Povećan rizik za prisilnu hospitalizaciju prema mnogobrojnim studijama imaju pacijenti s kroničnim mentalnim poremećajima kao što je shizofrenija i druge psihoze. Cilj ovoga rada bio je uočiti utjecaj pandemije COVID-19 na prisilne hospitalizacije, a time i na mentalno zdravlje u populaciji. Brojne studije su promatrale utjecaj socijalne izolacije i straha oko vlastite sigurnosti tijekom pandemije na mentalno zdravlje, čime su zaključili da osim što na različite načine negativno utječe na mentalno zdravlje žena, muškaraca, djece, mladih i kronično bolesnih, da osobito snažan utjecaj ima na pacijente s psihijatrijskim poremećajima. Ovo istraživanje obuhvaća 201 pacijenata prisilno hospitaliziranih na Klinici za psihijatriju KBC-a Rijeka u razdoblju od 2018. do 2021. godine. Pacijenti su podijeljeni u dvije veće skupine prema datumu hospitalizacije (prije covid pandemije ili tijekom covid pandemije) te uspoređivani na temelju spola, dobi, dijagnostičkih kategorija, broja prethodnih hospitalizacija na Klinici za psihijatriju, duljine boravka, i mjesta otpusta (kući ili u psihijatrijsku bolnicu). Također, analizirala se razlika u broju pacijenata prije i tijekom covid pandemije, kao i razdoblje „lockdown-a“ u RH. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na porast dijagnoza poremećaja raspoloženja i perzistentnih sumanutih stanja, a pad dijagnoza poremećaja ličnosti tijekom pandemije. U usporedbi s razdobljem prije pandemije, za vrijeme njezinog trajanja ukupno je hospitaliziran manji broj pacijenata, povećava se udio pacijenata ženskog spola, te je veći broj otpusta kući, a manji u PB Lopača. „Lockdown“ je karakteriziran padom broja prisilnih hospitalizacija.The procedure for involuntary hospitalizations is prescribed by the ZZODS and is intended for people with severe mental disorders that pose a risk to themselves or other people. According to numerous studies, patients with chronic mental disorders such as schizophrenia and other psychoses have an increased risk of involuntary hospitalization. The aim of this study was to observe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on involuntary hospitalizations and thus on mental health of the population. Numerous studies have analyzed the impact of social isolation during the pandemic on mental health, concluding that in addition to negatively affecting the mental health of women, men, children, young people and the chronically ill, it has a particularly strong impact on patients with psychiatric disorders. The research includes 201 patients involuntarily hospitalized at the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Hospital Centre Rijeka in the period from 2018 to 2021. Patients were divided into two larger groups according to the date of hospitalization (before the covid pandemic or during the covid pandemic) and compared based on gender, age, diagnostic categories, number of previous hospitalizations at the Psychiatric Clinic, length of stay, and place of discharge. Also, the difference in the number of patients before and during the covid pandemic was analyzed, as well as the period of lockdown in the Republic of Croatia. The results of the study indicate an increase in diagnoses of mood disorders and delusional disorders, and a decrease in diagnoses of personality disorders during the pandemic. Compared to the period before the pandemic, a smaller number of patients were hospitalized during its duration, the share of female patients increased, as well as the number of discharges home, while the number of discharges in Psychiatric hospital Lopača decreased. The lockdown period is characterized by a decline in the number of involuntary hospitalizations