[System and skill utilization in an Austrian emergency physician system: retrospective study]. / System- und Fertigkeitseinsatz in einem österreichischen Notarztsystem: retrospektive Studie.

BACKGROUND: The continuous rise in calls for emergency physicians and the low proportion of indicated missions has led to a loss of job attractiveness, which in turn renders services in some areas unable to sufficiently staff units. This retrospective analysis evaluated the frequency of emergency and general medical interventions in a ground-based emergency physician response system. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of anonymized data from the electronic documentation system of the emergency physician response unit at the Medical University of Graz was carried out. Calls answered by emergency physicians between 2010 and 2018 were extracted, measures carried out were evaluated and categorized into three groups: specific emergency interventions (category I), general medical interventions (category II) and no medical activity (category III). The frequency of occurrence of these categories was compared and incidences of individual measures per 100,000 inhabitants were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 15,409 primary responses and 322 secondary transports were extracted and analyzed. The annual rate of system activation rose almost continuously from 1442 calls in 2010 to 2301 calls in 2018. The 3687 (23.4%) cancellations resulted in 12,044 patient contacts. Of these, 2842 (18%) calls were coded as category I, 7372 (47%) as category II and 5518 (35%) as category III. The frequency of specific emergency measures and general medical interventions was estimated at 157/100,000 and 409/100,000 inhabitants, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: No specific emergency physician interventions were required in the majority of call-outs. The current model of preclinical care does not appear to be patient-oriented and efficient. Furthermore, the low proportion of critically ill and injured patients already leads to a reduction in attractiveness for emergency physicians and may introduce the threat of quality issues due to insufficient routine experience and lack of training.

[Psychiatric disorders and childhood trauma in prisoners with antisocial personality disorder]. / Psychische Störungen und Kindheitstraumata bei Strafgefangenen mit antisozialer Persönlichkeitsstörung.

Previous studies indicate high prevalence rates of mental disorders and trauma among prisoners. Based on a sample of 102 male German prisoners, the comorbidity and childhood trauma experiences in 72 criminals with antisocial personality disorder were investigated. Furthermore, associations of antisocial personality disorder and early traumatic experiences with the age at first conviction and the lifetime months of imprisonment were examined. Subjects had high rates of comorbid lifetime and current disorders as well as childhood trauma experiences. Physical abuse in childhood and adolescence was identified as a predictor for lifetime months of imprisonment, antisocial personality disorder was found to be a predictor for the age at first conviction. Our findings confirm the hypothesis of prisoners with antisocial personality disorder being a severely traumatized population with serious mental disorders. Traumatic childhood experiences and antisocial personality disorder are associated with criminality variables. This has important implications on preventive treatments as well as on how prison services are addressing these problems.

[Was the German forensic psychiatrist Hans Szewczyk the first modern profiler?]. / War der deutsche forensische Psychiater Hans Szewczyk der erste moderne Profiler?

The term "profiler" is usually associated with the FBI. For more than two decades a multitude of publications has appeared on this subject in the Anglo-American language area describing the work of psychiatrists and psychologists as profilers in spectacular crimes. This article deals with the forensic psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans Szewczyk, who probably worked out the first perpetrator profile on a scientific basis in 1969-71 already when three boys were murdered in Eberswalde (state of Brandenburg); his profile made an essential contribution to the solution of the case.

[Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in prisoners with a short imprisonment: results from a prison in north Germany]. / Die Prävalenz psychischer Erkrankungen bei Gefängnisinsassen mit Kurzzeitstrafe.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of mental disorders among prisoners with a short prison term. METHODS: We investigated 102 participants with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID I and II) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90). RESULTS: We found a lifetime-prevalence of mental disorders (axis I) of 83 %. 80 % of the participants showed at least one personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that short-term prisoners are a population which is highly troubled in a psychiatric sense and shows a need of treatment in prison.