Trajectories of children and adolescents attending a psychiatric emergency unit during the COVID-19 confinements: 2020–2022 longitudinal study

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Research

Belén Resa-Pérez¹  Esther Buil-Reiné¹  Laura Arenas-Pijoan¹  Andrea Jiménez-Mayoral¹  Filip Budny¹  Vanessa Gladys Velásquez-Acebey¹  Lucía Ibarra-Pertusa²  Eugènia Nicolau-Subires²  Carla Albert Porcar²  Marina Adrados-Pérez²  María Irigoyen-Otiñano³  Vicent Llorca-Bofí⁴  María Mur Laín⁵  Jorge López-Castroman⁶ 

[1] Department of Psychiatry, Santa Maria University Hospital, Lleida, Spain;Department of Psychiatry, Santa Maria University Hospital, Lleida, Spain;Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Lleida, Biological Foundations of Mental Disorders, Lérida, Spain;Department of Psychiatry, Santa Maria University Hospital, Lleida, Spain;Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Lleida, Biological Foundations of Mental Disorders, Lérida, Spain;CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain;Department of Psychiatry, Santa Maria University Hospital, Lleida, Spain;Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Lleida, Biological Foundations of Mental Disorders, Lérida, Spain;Department of Medicine, University of Barcelona School of Medicine, Barcelona, Spain;Department of Psychiatry, Santa Maria University Hospital, Lleida, Spain;Institut de Recerca Biomèdica Lleida, Biological Foundations of Mental Disorders, Lérida, Spain;University of Lleida, Lérida, Spain;University of Montpellier, IGF, CNRS-INSERM, Montpellier, France;Department of Psychiatry, Nimes University Hospital, Nimes, France;CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain;

关键词: Suicide;    Hospitalization;    Children;    SARS-COV-2;    Emergency room;    Psychiatric symptoms;    Clinical evolution;    Prognosis;    Mental health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13034-023-00619-6

 received in 2023-03-27, accepted in 2023-05-19,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionThe prevalence of psychiatric disorders has not shifted widely through the COVID pandemic, except for some specific groups such as young people or women. Our objective is to examine prospectively the evolution of children and adolescents who consulted in a psychiatric emergency service during the COVID-19 confinements.MethodWe collected prospective clinical information about 296 young people under 18 who visited a tertiary hospital for psychiatric reasons during the confinement periods in Spain. Clinical diagnoses, suicide attempts, hospital admissions, and pharmacological prescriptions were extracted from electronic health records through 2020, 2021, and 2022. Features of those who maintained psychiatric care and those who did not were compared.ResultsThree out of four children and adolescents who visited the psychiatric emergency department during the confinements continued psychiatric care at the end of 2022. Those who did not showed better premorbid adjustment at baseline. During follow-up, diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders and eating disorders, as well as the dosage of psychotropic drug prescriptions, increased. The diagnoses of major depressive disorder and eating disorder at baseline were associated with attempting suicide during follow-up. Patients with internalizing symptoms were admitted earlier than those with externalizing symptoms but no differences were found in terms of suicide attempts.ConclusionsThe continuity of psychiatric care after an initial emergency visit during the confinements implied greater clinical severity, as reflected by changes in clinical diagnoses and pharmacological regimens. Emergent symptoms of depression or eating disorders after social distancing or isolation could predict subsequent suicidal behavior in young populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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