To the Editor: Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) is common among psychiatric inpatients. A comprehensive review reported that the estimated prevalence ranged from 3% to 51% and increased over time.1 DAMA has received little attention in the medical literature, and most works were published a decade ago. The literature shows that patients requesting DAMA have poorer long-term prognoses,1 h...

Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) can have detrimental effects on patient outcomes. Recently, the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked with DAMA in the mental health setting. However, PTSD as a risk factor for DAMA in surgical patients has not received much consideration, although such patients may be at risk for triggering or amplification of PTSD symptoms pe...

Left heart catheterization (LHC) for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a widely performed procedure. This challenging to some extent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) especially after receiving intravenous (IV) contrast. We aimed analyze the rates, predictors and causes of readmission LHC ACS co-morbid CKD. The National Readmission Database 2018 was queried identify hospitalized adul...

BACKGROUND Patients who leave hospital against medical advice (AMA) may be at risk of adverse health outcomes and readmission. In this study we examined rates of readmission and predictors of readmission among patients leaving hospital AMA. METHODS We prospectively studied 97 consecutive patients who left the general medicine service of an urban teaching hospital AMA. Each patient was matched...

OBJECTIVE To assess the pattern of acute poisoning in children at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi. METHODS The one-year descriptive study was conducted in the Paediatric Emergency Unit of the Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007, involving all patients under 12 years of age who visited the unit with a history of accidental exposure to toxic substances. D...

STUDY OBJECTIVE This study describes the current documentation practices of health-care providers in the emergency department (ED) during the discharge against medical advice (AMA) process. METHODS This retrospective cohort study reviewed health care provider documentation of adult patients who left an ED AMA in one year. Each encounter documentation was reviewed for eight medicolegal standar...

OBJECTIVES To compare the patient characteristics, clinical conditions, and short-term recidivism rates of emergency department (ED) patients who leave against medical advice (AMA) with those who leave without being seen (LWBS) or complete their ED care. METHODS All eligible patients who visited the ED between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005 (N = 31,252) were classified into one of four group...

BACKGROUND Driving is a complex task. Many older drivers are unaware of their obligation to inform authorities of conditions which may impact upon their driving safety. AIMS This study sought to establish the adequacy of driving advice in electronic discharge summaries from an Australian stroke unit. METHOD One month of in-patient electronic discharge summaries were reviewed. A predetermine...