Forcible restraints are routine events in American hospitals. One study, using 2017 data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, estimated the number of restraints per year in the U.S. at more than 44,000. The rate varied greatly from one country to the next. See: Epidemiology and Psychiatric Services G. Newton Howes. The use of mechanical restraint in Pacific Rim countries: an international epidemiological study. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2020International rates of mechanical restraint in 2017 varied from 0.03 (New Zealand) to 98.8 (Japan) restraint events per million population per day, a variation greater than 3000-fold. Restraint in Australia (0.17 events per million) and the … Continue reading
Tag Archives: psychiatry
Delusional Parasitosis: The Interplay of Mind and Skin
By Sara Malik* Key words: delusional parasitosis, psychodermatology, psychiatry, dermatology, mind, skin, insects, infestation, antipsychotics Delusional parasitosis, also known as Ekbom syndrome, is a delusional disorder of the somatic type in which individuals believe that they are infested by insects. Delusional parasitosis was formally recognized as a psychiatric condition by Karl-Axel Ekbom, for whom the condition was eponymously named. Ekbom was a Swedish neurologist who had previously also described restless leg syndrome.1 Patients with delusional parasitosis are not afraid of the insects but are rather convinced that they are infested.2 Individuals will sometimes present with damage to the skin from attempting to remove the perceived insects.2 The incidence of delusional … Continue reading