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The following is a summary of “Characteristics of children and adolescents with recurrent mental health emergency visits and clinicians’ intervention tendencies,” published in the October 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Karakus et al.
Approximately 15% to 20% of children and adolescents are affected by mental disorders, but many do not receive adequate mental health services.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study analyzing children and adolescents to identify factors predicting recurrent emergency admissions.
They reviewed data from patients aged 0 to 18 who presented to the emergency department (March 1, 2022, to March 1, 2023). Participants were categorized into ‘single applicant’ (1 visit) and ‘repeated applicants’ (2 or more visits) groups.
The results showed that 1,563 emergency applications were recorded by 785 patients, with 62.2% visiting once and 37.8% presenting 2 or more times. Non-suicidal self-injury, delusions/hallucinations, irritability, and depression were significantly more common in recurrent applicants (P<0.05). Psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, and borderline personality traits were significantly more frequent in this group (P<0.05). Further, factors such as the number of psychiatric diagnoses, referral time, chemical restraint requirement, and the presence of psychotic disorder or borderline personality traits increased the likelihood of recurrence.
They concluded that specific risk factors contributed to recurrent emergency admissions among children and adolescents, highlighting the need for tailored community resources.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpc.16688
