What can we do about this important preventable cause of deaths on inpatient psychiatric units?

A review of all deaths in state psychiatric hospitals in Kentucky, USA, over 15 years concluded that pulmonary embolism was “by far the most important cause of preventable deaths” (Puentes et al., 2017). These deaths, while fortunately rare, had occurred during stuporous/ retarded catatonia (Puentes et al., 2017). Pulmonary embolism in catatonia A review of…