The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on psychiatric emergency admissions in Türkiye: Comparison of the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods

Aim: This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychiatric emergencies in Türkiye by comparing the number of psychiatric emergency consultations during the first year of the pandemic with those during the corresponding period prior to the pandemic.Material and Methods: The data were retrospectively collected from records of all the adult patients who were admitted to the emergency department and consulted the psychiatry unit between 2019 and 2021. The individuals who received consultations in the psychiatry unit prior to March 11, 2020 were the pre-pandemic group, while those who received consultations after that date were the pandemic group. The admission reasons were categorized into "aggression/hostility", "psychotic/manic", "depressive", "alcohol/substance related", "anxiety", "suicidal ideation", "suicide attempt", and "other".Results: There were 1,704 consultations in the pre-pandemic year and 1,506 during the pandemic, representing a 11.6% decrease. In the pre-pandemic group, 48.7% of patients were female (mean age = 37.3 years), whereas in the pandemic group, 51.3% were female (mean age = 38.5 years). The mean age was significantly higher in the pandemic group. Additionally, admissions related to aggression, hostility, depression, and suicidal ideation decreased during the pandemic period.Discussion: The results indicate an 11.6% decrease in consultations, likely due to fear of contagion, reduced referrals by emergency physicians, and increased telepsychiatry use. Although the admissions due to suicidal thoughts were declined, the number of suicide attempts showed no significant change. Older individuals showed higher vulnerability and a notable drop in consultations among the 18–24 age group. Despite fewer admissions, the rate of home discharge increased, reflecting pandemic-related constraints on psychiatric services.Conclusion: Study findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a decrease in the frequency of psychiatric emergency admissions. Specifically, reduction rates are explicit with the complaints related to aggression, hostility, depression and suicidal ideation.