ABSTRACT BACKGROUND:

In Brazil, the right to healthcare and the incorporation of best scientific evidence in public health are universally guaranteed by law. However, the treatment offered to patients with mental disorders in custodial hospitals in this country has not been rigorously evaluated.

OBJECTIVES:

To analyze the psychiatric diagnoses and treatments implemented in three Brazilian custodial institutions.

DESIGN AND SETTING:

This was a retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study on patients held in custody in three Brazilian institutions, as judicially-determined safety measures due to their mental disorders, and the tools used in diagnoses and treatments. These institutions are in Rio de Janeiro and the Federal District.

METHODS:

The data from medical and judicial records that were made available were assessed regarding the diagnoses that were made and the instruments that were used.

RESULTS:

None of these inpatients were evaluated using validated tools, and only a few medical records presented clear descriptions of the cases. No patient with substance involvement had undergone laboratory toxicological assays. It was not possible to verify the adequacy of treatments because the procedures were inadequately described in the records.

CONCLUSIONS:

No standardized protocols or instruments for diagnosing mental health disorders or assessing use of psychoactive substances had been applied among the inpatients at these custodial institutions in Rio de Janeiro and the Federal District. The treatments that were prescribed to these inpatients consisted mainly of drugs.