The patient readmission is commonly associated with the failure of the previous hospitalization/admission and is an important psychiatric and economic issue. Furthermore, it is still source of frustration to patients, their families and the teams treating them.

The authors propose a retrospective study investigating all the readmissions within 28 days of the last discharge in the general adult psychiatry ward of a portuguese hospital (Aveiro Hospital) from 2011 to 2013 in order to characterize the reasons and factors (social, demographic and clinical) involved.

Over the total 1994 discharges, 88 were readmited, yielding a readmission rate of 4.4%. The main diagnose was Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders, according to icd 10, and the main reasons for readmission were suicide and psychosis. Most previous hospitalizations have lasted less than the average length of stay during the considered period of time.

Evaluating the characteristics of readmissions promotes a better understanding of the whole process in order to devise a strategy for prevention and improvement of mental health services.