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All patients contacts at the four psychiatric emergency rooms in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg were registered every tenth day during 1985 (a total of 1969 patient contacts). Based on this material, we have compared patients who were given the diagnosis schizophrenia with other patients attending the psychiatric emergency rooms as regards demographic data, attendance patterns and treatment. There were 387 contacts from schizophrenic patients, of which 69.8% were men and 30.2% women. The schizophrenic patients were significantly younger than the other patients, and significantly more of them were unmarried, living alone and on pensions. A quarter of the schizophrenic patient contacts ended in hospital admission, either directly or after spending the night in the emergency room, 10% spent the night only, and 65% left the emergency room the same day with or without further appointments. There were signs that many of the schizophrenic patients, especially the men, used the emergency rooms as a means of human contact and a "shelter", compensating for the lack of a more personal social network. This is seen in connection with the fact that the male patients were to a greater degree without a family network. On the other hand, significantly more female schizophrenic patients were admitted to hospital or were offered overnight stays in the emergency room. Schizophrenic patients are regarded as large-scale users of psychiatric emergency rooms, which is seen in relation to recent years' limited capacity for hospital admission and lack of relevant options for housing, treatment and rehabilitation. The plans for community psychiatry in Copenhagen are expected to consider the special problems which these patients face.

On the basis of a prospective random sample investigation of 611 alcohol-related visits to the four psychiatric emergency units of the City of Copenhagen, demographic variables, referral sources and dispositions of treatment are described. On every 10th day throughout 1985 all visits were registered. The distribution of all variables except age and sex deviate significantly from those of non-alcohol-related visits. Thus fewer alcoholics cohabit and more are divorced. 25% of the alcohol-related visits resulted in an overnight stay in the unit, while 10% resulted in admission to the psychiatric ward. For non-alcohol-related visits the proportions were the reverse.