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Completed

NCT Number: NCT00184119

Effects of a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit

The purpose of the study is to compare the effects of using or not using a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in an acute psychiatric department.

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Key information

Conditions

Mental Disorders Aberrant Motor Behavior in Dementia Aggression Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Social Behavior

Age range

18 year–110 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Østmarka Psychiatric Department, St. Olavs Hospital

Trondheim, 7441, Norway

About this study

The main aim of the study is to compare the effects of using or not using a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in an acute psychiatric department.The acute ward of Østmarka psychiatric department, St. Olavs Hospital has a PICU separated from the rest of the ward. The PICU is separated with a locked door. Under two different conditions at different times all patients evaluated to be in need of PICU were admitted to the PICU. In the first condition the doors inside the PICU and between the rest of the acute ward and PICU were closed or locked. In the second condition the doors inside the PICU and the door between the PICU and the rest of the acute ward were either removed or held permanently open. In the second condition the patients thus were admitted to a PICU unit not using PICU principles.

The patients were evaluated with different rating scales at admittance, day three and at discharge from PICU.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • All patients admitted to Østmarka psychiatric department, St. Olavs Hospital in need of a PICU.

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients with dementia or mental retardation to an extensive degree.
  • Patients not speaking Norwegian or English.

Treatment and study plan

Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit

Procedure

Care in whole acute unit

Procedure

psychiatric acute care as usual

Primary outcomes

  1. Length of stay in Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

    Time frame: 3 days

  2. Symptoms of psychopathology

    Time frame: 3 days

    assessed by Broset Violence Checklist (BVC), a six-item observer-rated scale scoring behaviours. Higher scores predict imminent violence in psychiatric inpatients

  3. Violent or threatening incidents

    Time frame: 3 days

    recorded with the Staff Observation Aggression Scale-Revised (SOAS-R),

Secondary outcomes

  1. Therapeutic steps and nurses' interventions

    Time frame: 3 days

    coded daily on a 23-item checklist

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Other

Collaborators

  • St. Olavs Hospital

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit in an Acute Psychiatric Department.

Important dates

Study start
2001
Primary completion
2010
Study completion
2010
First posted
Sep 16, 2005
Registry last updated
Nov 20, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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