Effects of lockdown on emergency room admissions for psychiatric evaluation: an observational study from 4 centres in Italy

Objectives: An observation of the Emergency Room (ER) admissions during the lockdown. Methods: We monitored admissions to the ER requiring psychiatric evaluation during the 2020 lockdown (March 9th-May 3rd, 2020) compared to the same period of 2019, in four sites of Northern Italy (ASST Lariana, AUSL Modena, ASU Friuli Centrale and AUSL Romagna). Number of admissions, baseline demographic and clinical variables were extracted from the clinical databases. Results: A 20.0% reduction of psychiatric referrals was observed across the sites (24.2% in ASST Lariana, 30.5% in AUSL Modena, 12.0% in ASU Friuli Centrale and 14.5% in AUSL Romagna). This reduction peaked at 41.5% in the first month of the lockdown. Being homeless as well as with a dual diagnosis (OR 1,67, CI: 1.02–2.74), while living in a residential facility and admission for a depressive episode Being homeless (OR 2.50, CI: 1.36–4.61) and having a dual diagnosis (OR 1,67, CI: 1.02–2.74) were significantly associated with an increase in ER admission, while living in a residential facility (OR 0.48, CI: 0.31–0.74), having a depressive episode (OR 0.36, CI: 0.18–0.73) and a diagnosis of anxiety disorder (OR 0.60, CI: 0.36–0.99) were significantly associated with a decrease. Conclusions: During lockdown, a decrease in psychiatric referrals was observed.