Clinical Change as a Function of Brief Admission to Hospital in a Controlled Study Using the Present State Examination

A randomized controlled trial of brief hospital admission failed to show any difference on clinical measures when compared with standard admission for all psychiatric patients admitted from a catchment area over one year. Psychotic and neurotic symptoms were examined separately and together, using the Present State Examination (PSE) a week after admission and three months later. Clinical outcome was not related to length of stay in hospital or psychiatric diagnosis. This study shows how the PSE can be used to measure change in clinical state for a heterogenous group of psychiatric patients.