• J R Geddes, D Game, N E Jenkins, L A Peterson, G R Pottinger, and D L Sackett.
• University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK.
• Qual Health Care. 1996 Dec 1;5(4):215-7.

ObjectivesTo estimate the proportion of psychiatric inpatients receiving primary interventions based on randomised controlled trials or systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials.DesignRetrospective survey.SettingAcute adult general psychiatric ward.SubjectsAll patients admitted to the ward during a 28 day period.Main Outcome MeasuresPrimary interventions were classified according to whether or not they were supported by evidence from randomised controlled trials or systematic reviews.ResultsThe primary interventions received by 26/40 (65%; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 51% to 79%) of patients admitted during the period were based on randomised trials or systematic reviews.ConclusionsWhen patients were used as the denominator, most primary interventions given in acute general psychiatry were based on experimental evidence. The evidence was difficult to locate; there is an urgent need for systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials in this area.

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