Deaths in inpatient psychiatry

Deaths during inpatient psychiatric treatment are much less common than in non psychiatric clinics. In this study 44 autopsy cases in the Institute of Legal Medicine in Giessen of patients who died in an inpatient psychiatric hospital over a period of 7 years were collected and evaluated. This study showed that almost half of the deceased died of an unnatural death. Affective disorders, schizophrenia and psychosis were frequent underlying illnesses of the deceased and the reason for a suicide. During the assessment it was found that in individual cases a detailed documentation was missing from the medical records. In order to investigate deaths in the inpatient area of psychiatry, complete documentation of the patient's stay as well as an autopsy with further toxicological examinations are indispensable.