Reasons for visiting ER by those with autism

ER - Emergency Room - or as we call it here in Blighty Accident & Emergency (A & E), is never a particularly desirable place to visit given the emphasis on illness or injury of yourself or loved one. That being said, staff there do a sterling job sometimes under very stressful circumstances, responding to all-manner of complaints, some of which are life-threatening.

The paper by Dorothea Iannuzzi and colleagues [1] sought to identify some of the medical reasons why ER visits were made by people on the autism spectrum. They concluded that, depending on age, epilepsy or seizure-type disorders and "psychiatric conditions" were well represented in cases of autism based on data derived from the US 2010 National Emergency Department database.

Realising that epilepsy / seizure-type disorders seem to have more than a passing connection to quite a few cases of autism (see here) and can, in some cases, lead to that most extreme of outcomes (see here), I'm not going to focus any further on this part of the Iannuzzi findings. Rather the finding that: "Psychiatric conditions were primary among ASD individuals aged 12-15 years, accounting for more than 11 % of all visits" merits some further analysis.

The findings reported by Kalb and colleagues [2] documenting that: "Thirteen percent of visits among children with ASD [autism spectrum disorder] were due to a psychiatric problem, as compared with 2% of all visits by youths without ASD" provides further evidence for the extent of the Iannuzzi finding. Whilst treading carefully in this area of autism research, one detail stuck out from the Kalb report, whereby ER visits due to psychotic disorders seemed to be increased in likelihood compared to visits by asymptomatic children/youths. This seemed to tie in well with my recent discussions on the observations of Maibing and colleagues [3] and the risk/onset of schizophrenia spectrum disorders following a previous child or adolescent psychiatric diagnosis.

Unfortunately, my discussions on the research literature on ER visits and autism do not get any happier as I turn to the body of work looking at suicide attempts and autism, and as per the conclusion from Kato and colleagues [4], "ASDs should always be a consideration when dealing with suicide attempts in adults at the emergency room". Again, I've covered the very sensitive topic of suicide (ideation and attempts) and autism previously on this blog (see here and see here) and as we speak further research has emerged pertinent to this topic [5]. Though sometimes quite uncomfortable to discuss, this collected work emphasises how we all really need to be talking a lot more about this issue and what can be done to divert people away from this most extreme type of behaviour. Admission to the ER - which will often be the first point of contact after such behaviour - could be a good place to start having those discussions.

In amongst the literature talking about the ER and autism, there are other details which provide a rather more positive discussion about this topic. Take for example, the paper by Giarelli and colleagues [5] looking at the ways and means ER might be made more comfortable to [some of] those on the autism spectrum. Similarly, the guidance supplied by McGonigle and colleagues [6] talking about ways of managing agitation in the ER for those on the autism spectrum might also be better referenced in this clinical setting. Oh, and a bit more knowledge about medical comorbidities potentially affecting people with autism would probably not go amiss more generally.

I should conclude that whilst I've focused on some of the more frequently reported reasons why people with autism might present to the ER, one shouldn't forget that all the other reasons why the general population go to the ER are similarly as pertinent to those on the spectrum. That being said, I very much doubt that "help with removing false nails" would feature on most people's reasons to attend hospital...

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[1] Iannuzzi DA. et al. Brief Report: Emergency Department Utilization by Individuals with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord. 2014 Sep 27.

[2] Kalb LG. et al. Psychiatric-related emergency department visits among children with an autism spectrum disorder. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2012 Dec;28(12):1269-76.

[3] Maibing CF. et al. Risk of Schizophrenia Increases After All Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders: A Nationwide Study. Schizophr Bull. 2014 Sep 5. pii: sbu119.

[4] Kato K. et al. Clinical features of suicide attempts in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2013 Jan-Feb;35(1):50-3.

[5] Takar K. & Kondo T. Comorbid atypical autistic traits as a potential risk factor for suicide attempts among adult depressed patients: a case–control study. Annals of General Psychiatry 2014, 13:33.

[6] Giarelli E. et al. Sensory stimuli as obstacles to emergency care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Adv Emerg Nurs J. 2014 Apr-Jun;36(2):145-63.

[7] McGonigle JJ. et al. Management of agitation in individuals with autism spectrum disorders in the emergency department. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2014 Jan;23(1):83-95.

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Iannuzzi DA, Cheng ER, Broder-Fingert S, & Bauman ML (2014). Brief Report: Emergency Department Utilization by Individuals with Autism. Journal of autism and developmental disorders PMID: 25261249