Psychiatric services : a journal of the American Psychiatric Association
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Of 69 patients admitted to a hospital because of suicide risk, 30 (44 percent) were completely free of suicidal ideation 24 hours after admission. Scores on the Scale for Suicide Ideation at the time of admission distinguished patients who continued to have suicidal ideation 24 hours later (the sustained-ideation group) from those who did not (the transient-ideation group). Patients in the transient group were more likely than those in the sustained group to have made a suicide attempt during the week before admission. At admission patients in the sustained group were more likely to have psychotic symptoms and to report a family history of psychiatric illness.
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The Veterans Health Administration clinical guideline for major depressive disorder was used in screening 574 male veterans treated in primary care settings in the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system. Thirteen percent (N=73) screened positive for depression, and 33 percent of those patients showed evidence of a major depressive episode. Pre- and posttreatment assessment of a sample of 16 patients treated for depression in a primary care setting revealed statistically significant improvement with treatment.
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Patient characteristics associated with the clinical prediction of assaultive behavior in a forensic psychiatric hospital were compared with characteristics associated with actual assaultive behavior. ⋯ Clinicians were significantly more accurate than chance in prospectively predicting which male forensic patients would show assaultive behavior. However, some of the factors associated with clinical prediction, such as race, ability to follow ward routine, and arrest history, were not associated with actual assaultive behavior. In addition, clinicians failed to use dual diagnosis of schizophrenia and substance use disorder as a predictor.