Mortality Following a Psychiatric Emergency Room Visit: An 18-Month Follow-Up Study
RODRIGO A. MUNOZ M.D.1,
SUE MARTEN M.D.,
KATHYE A. GENTRY , , and
ELI ROBINS M.D.
1 Private practice in Sheboygan, Wis.
The authors' follow-up study of patients seen in a psychiatric emergency room revealed that six percent (four times as many as in the general population) of the patients had died. No deaths were known to be due to suicide. Deaths among alcoholics (with one exception) occurred in patients younger than 47; the emergency room physician should realize that a disproportionate number of young alcoholics will die prematurely.
