Clinical Change as a Function of Brief Admission to Hospital in a Controlled Study Using the Present State Examination

Abstract

A randomized controlled trial of brief hospital admission failed to show any difference on clinical measures when compared with standard admission for all psychiatric patients admitted from a catchment area over 1 yr. Psychotic and neurotic symptoms were examined separately and together, using the Present State Examination (PSE) a week after admission and 3 mo. later. Clinical outcome was not related to length of stay in hospital or psychiatric diagnosis. This study shows how the PSE can be used to measure change in clinical state for a heterogenous group of psychiatric patients.