OBJECTIVES: The cost of psychiatric service is increasing every year in Korea. The length of inpatient stay (LOS) is an important factor determining in-patient service cost. This study was aimed to find the factors that influence LOS in a psychiatric open ward of a general hospital. METHODS: The study includes 134 inpatients who were consecutively admitted to a psychiatric open ward in a general hospital from January 1st to June 30th in 2001. Demographic data, clinical characteristics on admission and discharge, global functioning, social support levels and life stressors were collected. RESULTS: The mean LOS for the 134 patients was 15.5 days (S.D 9.2). The occupation of housekeeper and those secred high in phobic anxiety subscale on SCL-90-R were statistically significant predictor for longer LOS in the univariate analysis. No significant differences in LOS were found by diagnostic groups and social support. In multiple regression analysis, the scores of phobic anxiety subscale, occupation and presence of physical illness were statistically significant predictor for LOS. CONCLUSION: This study failed to find the significant variables to account for substantial proportion of variance for LOS.
Anxiety ; Diagnosis ; Hospitals, General* ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Korea ; Length of Stay* ; Occupations

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis and assessment of personality disorders are crucial for research, as well as for clinical practice. The Structured Interview for the DSM-IV Personality (SIDP-IV) is a structured diagnostic interview for DSM-IV personality disorders (PD). This study aimed to develop the Korean version of the SIDP-IV and to test its inter-rater reliability. METHODS: A panel consisting of 7 psychiatrists translated the SIDP-IV into Korean. Six psychiatrists and 1 psychiatric nurse, all trained to apply the SIPD-IV, interviewed 70 inpatients (male, 30;female, 40) using this translation, two joint-examiners per patient interview. We used kappa coefficients to test diagnosis agreement, the Pearson correlation coefficient to test K-SIDP-IV total score agreement, and percent agreement to test the agreement on the number of DSM-IV criteria met. RESULTS: The kappa coefficients for most of the PDs, such as paranoid, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive, were excellent (> or =0.80). Moreover, the kappa coefficients for schizoid and antisocial PD were acceptable (k=0.66). The Pearson correlation coefficient for the K-SIDP-IV total scores were high for all personality disorders (r=0.91-0.97). Percent agreement regarding the number of DSM-IV criteria met varied from 92.9% to 100%. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the SIDP-IV is a reliable instrument for the assessment and diagnosis of personality disorders.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Personality Disorders ; Psychiatry