ArticleBMJ open2026
Management of patients with autism spectrum disorder in psychiatric emergency: a single-centre retrospective study.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and is frequently associated with psychiatric and somatic comorbidities. As a result, individuals with ASD use emergency departments more frequently than the general population. However, the core features of ASD pose specific challenges in emergency department care, particularly for adult patients and emergency staff frequently report limited training in this area. While paediatric presentations of ASD in the emergency department are well documented, the international literature on adults remains limited. MATERIALS AND
methodswe conducted a single-centre retrospective study including all patients aged 15 years and older with a diagnosis of ASD who attended the Centre Psychiatrique d'Orientation et d'Accueil (CPOA), GHU Paris (Groupe Hospitalo-Universitaire) between 12 January 2016 and 31 December 2023. The objectives were to estimate the prevalence of ASD in this psychiatric emergency setting and to describe the patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, mode of arrival, reasons for consultation and referral following the emergency visit.
resultsAmong 69 447 patients who attended the CPOA during this period, 484 (0.7%) had a diagnosis of ASD. This population was predominantly male (71.9%), with a mean age of 25.1 years. The most frequent reasons for consultation were hetero-aggressive behaviour (37.0%) and anxiety (31.0%). Overall, 39.2% of patients were hospitalised, including 17.3% involuntarily, and 6.2% required physical restraint. The number of consultations involving patients with ASD increased significantly between 2016-2023. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionThis study provides a clearer understanding of the clinical and organisational challenges associated with the management of adult patients with ASD in psychiatric emergency departments. Although this study was descriptive and did not assess specific interventions, the observed patterns, in line with previous literature, suggest that adopted care strategies may help better address the needs of this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.