Substance abuse and recovery in a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare the development in symptoms, behaviors, function and treatment between patients with or without a substance use (SU) diagnose in a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Methods: A total of 118 admitted patients were assessed at admittance, day 3 and discharge from the PICU. Symptoms of psychopathology, therapeutic steps taken, violent episodes and length of patient stay were recorded. Results: More males than females received an SU diagnosis. Substance use patients had less psychiatric symptoms at admittance and showed a faster symptom reduction, more favorable and faster improvement of function and a shorter length of stay. Except for symptom reduction and shorter length of stay, these differences were largely due to differences in sex and diagnoses in the two groups. Conclusion: In a naturalistic group of patients in a PICU, SU is associated with favorable outcomes compared to patients not using substances.