Mortality in Geriatric Psychiatric Inpatients

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the deaths of patients sixty-five and older on a psychiatric ward to determine the mortality rate, the characteristics of illness, and the cause of death. METHODS: We analyzed the case record of patients sixty-five and older who had died during hospitalization on a psychiatric ward during a seventeen-year period. Case data was collected by review of chart records. RESULTS: The mortality rate in the patients sixty-five and older was 18/1208 (1.5%). Eight of these eighteen patients died of pneumonia. Mortality in the acutely ill geropsychiatric inpatients was difficult to predict. Age, sex, and diagnosis did not predict mortality. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce mortality, especially in male veterans, management of geropsychiatric patients should include early recognition of pneumonia symptoms, especially for patients with history of pulmonary disease.