Emergency mental health care for chi̇ldren and adolescents outside of regular working hours: 7 years outcomes from a tertiary hospital.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to define the clinical characteristics and management strategies of children and adolescents presenting with psychiatric crises to the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary health care facility outside of working hours, and to identify predictors of multiple ED visits among them. METHODS: From January 2012 to December 2018, retrospective records of patients presenting with psychiatric symptoms to the ED and examined by a child psychiatrist after 5 p.m. on weekdays and for 24 h on weekends and public holidays were analyzed. RESULTS: Our sample consisted of 1576 visits and 1364 patient (Female:Male=1.8:1, mean age=14.86 ± 2.72). The most common reason for visits was self-injurious thought or behaviors (SITB), and the most common diagnosis was depression. While depression was statistically more common in girls, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and/or intellectual disability (ASD/ID), psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorder were more common in boys. The forensic evaluation was the most common reason for visits among children younger than 6 years old. Of visits, 23% transferred to hospitalization. A history of mental health contact was the lowest in depression (37.5%), psychosis (34.1%), and substance use disorders (33%). Of patients, 10.8% had multiple visits. A history of mental health contacts, conduct disorder, ASD/ID, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, and dissociative disorder were predictors of multiple visits to ED with psychiatric reasons. CONCLUSION: Emergency mental health care outside of regular working hours can be a critical step in the diagnosis and treatment of serious psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents.

Emergency Department Visits for Non-suicidal Self-harm, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicide Attempts in Children and Adolescents.

Self-harm presentations to emergency departments (ED) have become a growing concern, yet little is known about self-harm visits in pediatric EDs. This study aimed to investigate the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients who presented to the pediatric ED between 2012 and 2017 with non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH, n = 63, 60.3% female, M = 14.25 years), suicidal ideation (SI, n = 75, 57.3% female, M = 14.83 years), and suicide attempts (SA, n = 461, 82.9% female, M = 15.41 years). Also, predictors of SA were investigated. Of the patients, 79.4% had at least a psychiatric disorder. Depression was the most common diagnosis in the SI and SA groups, and autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability were the leading diagnoses in the NSSH group. Self-poisoning was the most common method, and older age, female sex, having relational problems, and prior or current psychiatric admissions were the most important predictive factors of SA. NSSH, SI, and SA exhibit different features in early life. EDs provide an important opportunity for initiating developmentally appropriate interventions to reduce future risks.