Published online Oct 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i10.854
Peer-review started: April 22, 2021
First decision: June 17, 2021
Revised: June 28, 2021
Accepted: September 3, 2021
Article in press: September 3, 2021
Published online: October 19, 2021
Processing time: 175 Days and 23.1 Hours
The use of mechanical restraint (MR) in hospitalized psychiatric patients remains controversial due to the numerous ethical, legal, and clinical questions associated with this practice. Many efforts have been made to reduce the use of MR. Nevertheless, it remains widely used in acute psychiatric care settings throughout Europe.
It’s essential to identify the patients most likely to require MR or those likely to require a more prolonged duration of MR.
The main objective is to determine the proportion of patients subjected to MR and the duration thereof in two acute care psychiatric units. Secondly, to identify the variables associated with the use and duration of MR.
Descriptive study of all patients admitted to the acute psychiatric units at the Parc de Salut Mar. The number and percentage of patients subjected to MR and the duration of each episode were assessed. Multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the determinants of MR and its course.
The results show that the use of MR is very frequent. The diagnosis of psychotic disorder and the presence of a language barrier were associated with a greater risk of MR. The male sex was associated with longer restraint periods
Despite efforts to reduce or eliminate the use of MR, the results of this study show that these procedures remain widely used in the acute care units at our hospital. Its determining factors are the psychotic disorder and the language barrier. The factors of a prolonged MR is the male sex.
It is important to develop specific protocols to further reduce the use of MR.