Abstract
Objectives
To explore the relationship between social and clinical factors with 1. Time to referral to an older adult liaison psychiatry service, and 2. Length of stay, in a sample of older adults admitted to an acute general medical hospital receiving liaison psychiatry intervention, in London, UK, over a three‐year period.
Methods
Information on patients referred to Liaison Psychiatry for Older Adults between January 2013 to December 2015 was collected using structured forms, with clinical diagnoses determined according to ICD‐10. The association of social and clinical factors with the time taken to refer to liaison psychiatry and length of stay was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression and zero‐truncated Poisson regression, respectively.
Results
Compared with people who were diagnosed with depression, older adults with psychotic and alcohol use disorders had higher rates of referral to liaison psychiatry (adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) 1.83 (95% CI: 1.30, 2.59) and aHR 1.69 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.83) respectively. In adjusted models, length of stay was increased in older adults with delusional disorders and shorter in people with alcohol use disorders, personality disorders and learning disabilities, compared to people with depressive diagnoses. Within this cohort, a new definite dementia diagnosis and longer time to refer to liaison psychiatry were both associated with a longer length of general hospital in‐patient stay.
Conclusions
In older adults admitted to general medical hospitals, and needing liaison psychiatry input, timely referral may be associated with a shorter length of stay.
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