Short-Term Hospitalization Underlies the Similarity between Involuntarily and Voluntarily Admitted Patients: A One-Year Cohort Study

This study compared individuals admitted to a psychiatric hospital under a civil involuntary commitment order (IA) and patients admitted voluntarily (VA) using a one-year, shortest-stay cohort. Data were collected for 439 patients consecutively admitted to a university-affiliated Mental Health Center from March 1, 2012, to February 28, 2013, and discharged within seven days (one-year, shortest-stay cohort). A cross-sectional comparison between IA (n = 106) and VA (n = 333) groups was conducted. Mean length-of-stay was found to be slightly longer (4.7 ± 1.7 days) for the IA group compared to the VA group (3.8 ± 1.9 days; p = 0.019). Both IA and VA groups were similar regarding age, gender, marital status, age of onset, illness duration, and diagnosis. An acute psychotic state as reason for admission was observed 3.4 times more (p < 0.001) for IA compared to VA, whereas suicidal thought (p = 0.002), major depressive episode (p < 0.001), and hallucinations (p = 0.014) were found less frequently among IA patients. About one quarter of the patients (26.6 percent) in the study cohort were discharged for lack of adequate reason to remain hospitalized. There were no significant differences between IA and VA inpatients. The shortest length of stay underlies the similarity between involuntarily and voluntarily admitted patients. The obtained data point toward the need for more accurate assessment of the criteria for involuntary admission.