• Cintia de Azevedo-Marques Périco, Roberto Mendes Dos Santos, Leonardo Rodrigo Baldaçara, Camila Santos Símaro, Renata Costa Junqueira, Maria Olivia Pozzolo Pedro, and João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia.
• Centro Universitário de Saúde FMABC, Medical School, Department of Neuroscience - Santo André (SP), Brazil.
• Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2022 May 1; 68 (5): 622-626.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify the infrastructure (e.g., availability, resources, and staff), basic metrics, and problems (e.g., network, overcrowding, resources, and infrastructure) of the psychiatric emergency services in Brazil.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study assessing psychiatric services (n=29) listed by the Brazilian Psychiatric Association in 2019.ResultsAlmost all the units reported 24 h/7-day availability having psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers, with 8.8 (SE=2.2) and 2.8 (SE=0.3) consultations and hospitalizations per day, respectively. Separated room for contention was reported by the minority of the services (38%). The most commonly reported problems were insufficient structure for child/adolescent care (83%), increasing patient demand (72%), housing referral for homeless (72%), excessive prescription demand (69%), short-term room overcrowding (59%), court orders for inpatient treatment (59%), lack of vacancies for inpatients hospitalization (59%), and referral to primary care (56%).ConclusionsSimilar to the United States, the Brazilian psychiatric emergency units are decreasing and encompass the shortcomings of the Brazilian mental health care network.

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