Perfil epidemiológico y clínico de los pacientes hospitalizados en la Clínica Psiquiátrica Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón, durante septiembre de 2003 (Medellín)

Introduction and objective: Hospitalization is fundamental in the treatment of severe psychiatric disorders, the health service';s knowledge about it';s target population is basic for planning attention, education and investigation. Information from every institution is useful to conform the national epidemiological map. This paper describes the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of acute patients hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital. Materials and methods: Descriptive research, using secondary information sources (clinical histories) of patients hospitalized in September of 2003. SPSS 10 software was used for data analysis. Results: The mean age was 36,9 years (DE 15,1), 22 (32,4%) patients were men and 46 (67,6%) women, mostly (63,2%) from Medellin. The most frequent diagnosis were: major depressive disorder, 22 (23,4%) patients; bipolar disorder, 27 (39,7%); psychotic disorders, 14 (20,6%). The mean length of stay was 8,8 days (DE 5,3). Conclusion: Most of the patients were adult middle age women with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, from Medellin, making it easier to include them in out-patient care programs including cognitive behavior therapy and psycho-education.