[A study of the connection between coercive measures used in a closed acute psychiatric ward and the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients involved]. / Dwang- en drangmaatregelen binnen een gesloten acute psychiatrische opnameafdeling; relatie met socio-demografische en klinische kenmerken.

BACKGROUND: Admission at a closed acute psychiatric ward is a severe and possibly life changing experience for a patient. Sometimes admission is accompanied by coercive measures. Despite the impact that these measures may have on the patient, very little research has been published concerning this patient population. AIM: To obtain insight into the connection between the socio-demographic characteristics of patients admitted to a closed acute psychiatric ward and the coercive measures to which they were subjected. METHOD: For a year a database was compiled to give us information about the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients admitted to a closed acute psychiatric ward in The Hague in the Netherlands. This record enables us to analyse the relation between these characteristics and coercive measures. RESULTS: The majority of patients admitted were male, single, childless and were unemployed or not in education but were receiving some form of welfare payment. 33% of admissions were in fact re-admissions. 20% of the admissions/re-admissions were secluded during the admission procedure - for the following reasons: symptoms of a psychotic disorder, a manic episode and/or aggression. Secluded patients were younger and had more serious psychiatric problems; they functioned less well and had been in hospital longer than patients who had not been secluded upon admission. During the admission procedure 14% of patients received emergency medication. CONCLUSION: These results have given us more insight into the connection between the use of coercive measures in psychiatry and the socio-demographic characteristics and clinical characteristics of the patients involved. This information could serve as reference material for future research.

[Manic-psychotic symptoms as clinical manifestation of hyperparathyroidism]. / Manisch-psychotische verschijnselen in het kader van hyperparathyreoïdie met aspecifiek beloop.

We discuss the case history of a woman aged 49 years who displayed manic-psychotic symptoms as a clinical manifestation of hyperparathyroidism. Following resection of the parathyroid she developed severe depression. Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is characterised by an increase of the parathyroid hormone (PTH), which in turn leads to an increase in the plasma calcium. PHPT can be accompanied by various psychiatric symptoms ranging from personality changes and severe depression to obsessive-compulsive and paranoid symptoms.

[Folie à famille: a Surinamese-Hindustani family with a shared paranoid delusion and severe undernourishment]. / Folie à famille: een Surinaams-Hindoestaans gezin met een gedeelde paranoïde waan en ernstige ondervoeding.

Folie à famille is a rare psychiatric condition in which several family members develop similar psychotic symptoms. We describe the case of a family of four with a shared paranoid delusion, who all obtained complete remission after being treated with antipsychotics on different psychiatric wards.