Aims: The aim was to analyse the psychiatric consultations in nine Italian hospital emergency departments, by comparing the lockdown and post-lockdown periods of 2020 with the equivalent periods of 2019.Methods: Characteristics of psychiatric consultations, patients, and drug prescriptions were analyzed. Joinpoint models were used to identify changes in the weekly trend of consultations.Results: A 37.5% decrease in the number of consultations was seen during the lockdown period and 17.9% after the lockdown. The number of individual patients seen decreased by 34.9% during the lockdown and 11.2% after the lockdown. A significant change in the number of consultations from week 11 to week 18 occurred, followed by a gradual increase. There was a higher percentage of patients with previous psychiatric hospitalizations during the lockdown period (61.1 vs. 56.3%) and a lower percentage after the lockdown (59.7 vs. 64.7%). During the lockdown there was a large increase in psychiatric consultations for substance use disorders, whereas more consultations for manic episodes occurred after the lockdown. A 3.4% decrease was observed in consultations for suicidal ideation and planning during the lockdown, followed by an upward rebound after the lockdown, along with an increase in consultations for suicide attempts. During lockdown antipsychotic and benzodiazepine prescriptions increased by 5.2 and 4.1%, respectively. After the lockdown, the number of compulsory hospitalizations was higher than in 2019.Conclusions: We observed a decrease of psychiatric consultations during and after the lockdown. There was an increase in consultations for manic episodes and suicidality after the lockdown. The focus of psychiatric services must remain high particularly in this latter period.

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Abstract:Purpose: The aim of our study is to verify the feasibility and the effi cacy of Onyx as embolization agent in the treatment of traumatic and non-traumatic peripheral vascular lesions. Materials and Methods: In the period between September 2006 and March 2012, we treated with Onyx 26 patients (14 males/12 females; age range, 18-85 years old; mean age, 65 years old), 11 of which with traumatic peripheral vascular lesions and 15 with non-traumatic vascular lesions (9 neoplastic hemorrhagic lesions, 3 arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and 3 aneurysms). Follow-up controls were performed with clinical examination and by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) imaging 1, 6, and 12 months after the procedure. Results: All peripheral vascular lesions were embolized with Onyx; 3 patients with aneurysms were treated with Onyx associated with endovascular coils. Four elective and 22 emergency embolization procedures were performed. In all patients, we obtained cessation of bleeding and the complete and permanent embolization of all vascular lesions. Conclusions: Onyx is an eff ective and safe embolization agent for peripheral vascular lesions.

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Background Despite the EU recommendations on mental health, involuntary admission has been under researched in Italy for a long time and the overall picture of involuntary admission still appears fragmentary. The aims of this study are to evaluate involuntary admission rates in the Piedmont Region (Italy) and to investigate clinical and service-related variables associated with involuntary admission. Methods This is a cross-sectional retrospective multicenter study involving all psychiatric inpatients units of the general hospitals of Piedmont Region. Data on hospitalizations during 2016 were collected by consulting hospital discharge registers. The analyses were performed on two samples: 6018 patients (data analysis was run on first hospitalization during the study period for those with multiple admissions) and 7881 inpatient episodes. The association between involuntary admission and socio-demographic and clinical characteristics was examined through t-test for continuous variables, and Pearson’s Chi-square test for categorical variables. Multilevel modeling was applied in logistic regression models with two levels: for the first model center and participants and for the second model center and inpatient episodes. Results Of 6018 inpatients, 10.1% were admitted involuntarily at first hospitalization, while the overall compulsory treatment rate was slightly lower (9.1%) in the inpatient episodes sample (n = 7881). The involuntary admission rates ranged from 0.8 to 21% among study centers. Involuntary admissions were primarily associated with younger age, diagnosis of schizophrenia or substance use disorders, longer duration of hospital stay, mechanical restraint episodes, and fewer subsequent hospitalizations during the study period. Conclusions The rate of involuntary admission in the Piedmont Region was lower than the mean rate across countries worldwide. There were noteworthy differences in rates of involuntary admission among psychiatric units, although no relationship was found with characteristics of the psychiatric wards or of the areas where hospitals are located.

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