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Reaction to Severe Stress and Adjustment Disorders After the September 2017 Earthquakes in a Psychiatric Emergency Department in Mexico City

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2019

Ana Fresán ,
Rebeca Robles-García ,
Claudia Becerra-Palars ,
Manuel Alejandro Muñoz-Suárez ,
Omar Rangel-Cupa ,
Brisa Gissel Monroy-Cortés  and
Alejandro Molina-Lopez Open the ORCID record for Alejandro Molina-Lopez [Opens in a new window]
Ana Fresán
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Directorate, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico
Rebeca Robles-García
Affiliation:
Epidemiologic and Social Research Directorate, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico
Claudia Becerra-Palars
Affiliation:
Clinical Services Directorate, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico
Manuel Alejandro Muñoz-Suárez
Affiliation:
Hospitalization and Continuous Psychiatric Care Directorate, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico
Omar Rangel-Cupa
Affiliation:
Postgraduate Specialization Course in Psychiatric Emergencies, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
Brisa Gissel Monroy-Cortés
Affiliation:
Continuous Psychiatric Care Department, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico
Alejandro Molina-Lopez*
Affiliation:
Continuous Psychiatric Care Department, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Alejandro Molina-Lopez, National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente, Continuous Psychiatric Care Department, Mexico City, 14375, Mexico (e-mail: doctor.alex.psiquiatra@gmail.com).
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Abstract

Objective

Earthquakes may lead to a reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorders (RSSAD). On September 7, 19, and 23, 2017, Mexico was struck by many severe earthquakes. The aim of this study was to examine whether there was an increase in the number of consultations and RSSAD in a psychiatric emergency department in Mexico City after these earthquakes.

Methods

We studied retrospectively the diagnosis and triage assessment from a Mexican psychiatric emergency department database from September 1 to November 30, 2017, and analyzed RSSAD and the number of consultations after the earthquakes.

Results

A total of 1,811 psychiatric emergency consultations were registered from the period of study. A total of 141 consultations represented RSSAD. There was a significant increase of RSSAD after the September 23, 2017, earthquake. The triage assessment revealed that the urgency of the consultations was higher immediately after the earthquakes.

Conclusion

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, may trigger diverse RSSAD leading to increased emergency consultations, especially when those disasters are repetitive. Mental health professionals should be adequately trained and sensitized for possible acute disaster victims. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:686–690).

Keywords

earthquakespsychiatric emergency servicestriage
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 686 - 690
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 

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