Laboratory findings in emergently medicated psychiatry patients

To determine routine laboratory differences between patients with severe psychomotor agitation who require emergency intramuscular (IM-medicated patients) medication and those who do not (non-IM-medicated patients). A retrospective chart review of patients 18 years or older who went to a psychiatry emergency service over a 30-day period was performed. Demographic and laboratory variables were compared between IM- and non-IM-medicated patients. Emergently medicated patients (n=35) were older than non-IM-medicated patients (n=179) (42.6 vs 34.3 years, P<.001). Patients receiving emergency IM medications had higher leukocyte (WBC) count (P=.04), blood urea nitrogen (P=.001), creatinine (P=.01), glucose (P=.009), aspartate aminotransferase (P<.001), alanine aminotransferase (P=.01), and electrocardiogram QTc interval (P=.03). They were also more likely to have abnormal levels of potassium (P<.05), glucose (P<.05), aspartate aminotransferase (P<.001), and alanine aminotransferase (P<.05). Emergently medicated patients in this psychiatry emergency service were more likely to be older and more likely to have abnormal laboratories vs other adult patients.