Behavioral Emergencies in India: Would Psychiatric Emergency Services Help?

Abstract

Abbreviations: DALY = disability-adjusted life years NGO = non-governmental organization PTSD = post-traumatic stress disorder WHO = World Health Organization Abstract Introduction: Behavioral emergencies constitute an important component of emergencies worldwide. Yet, research on behavioral emergencies in India has been scarce. This article discusses the burden, types, and epidemiology of behavioral emergencies in India. Methods: A computerized search of Medline, Psychinfo, and Cochrane from 1975 to 2009 was performed, and all articles were evaluated and collated. The results were summarized. Results and Conclusions: There is an acute need for psychiatric emergency services in India. Suicides, acute psychoses, and substance-related problems form the major portion of behavioral emergencies, while current trends show a rise in disaster-and terrorism-related emergencies. Saddichha S, Vibha P: Behavioral emergencies in India: Would psychiatric emergency services help? Prehosp Disaster Med 2010;26(1):65-70.

Patients with deliberate self-harm attended in emergency setting at a tertiary care hospital: A 13-month analysis of clinical-psychiatric profile

“…A recent review paper commenting on psychiatric emergencies in EDs in India has rightly pointed to a dearth of studies on psychiatric emergencies, including self-harm. 16 The present study was planned in view of scant published literature on DSH presenting to ED in India. It aimed to examine and describe the clinicalpsychiatric profile of patients with a DSH attempt, who attended the ED of a tertiary care center for DSH over a 13-month period and were evaluated by a psychiatrist as part of emergency psychiatric team.…”

“…A recent review paper commenting on psychiatric emergencies in EDs in India has rightly pointed to a dearth of studies on psychiatric emergencies, including self-harm. 16…”

Comments on “Utilization of Emergency Psychiatry Service in a Tertiary Care Centre in North Eastern India: A Retrospective Study”

“…But those were published between 1980 and 1990, and there is more awareness among psychiatrists and physicians in recent times about emergencies in psychiatry. [8] There are many recent works on emergency psychiatry presentations which state that schizophrenia, substance use disorders, mania, and dissociative symptoms are the common presenting illnesses at the emergency department, rather than the somatoform disorder. [9][10][11][12] These recent works on psychiatric emergency clearly state a presentation and profile of the psychiatric emergency patients, which differ largely from the profile stated in the article by Naskar et al [1] The description of "Distribution of the various reasons for referral from various departments," in Naskar et al, [1] states that 22.38% of patients referred by other departments had a previous psychiatric illness.…”