A structured interview, the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, was administered to identify paniclike anxiety and evaluate patients' psychiatric status. Anxious and depressive symptoms were evaluated with self-report questionnaires. Medical information was extracted from patients' medical records.
The prevalence of paniclike anxiety was 44 % (95 % CI, 40 % -48 % ) in the sample (n = 771). Psychiatric disorders were more common in panic patients (63.4 % vs 20.1 % ), as were suicidal thoughts (21.3 % vs 11.3 % ). Emergency physician diagnosed only 7.4 % of panic cases.
Paniclike anxiety is common in ED patients with UCP, and this condition is rarely diagnosed in this population.