Childhood and adolescence disorders The characteristics of child and adolescent inpatients in a mental health hospital

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the characteristics of patients accessing child and adolescent inpatient unit in a mental health hospital.

Method: Data were obtained from child and adolescent inpatient unit files. Files of patients under 18 years of age were evaluated over a 10-months period retrospectively. Subjects were evaluated by number of admissions to inpatient unit within a year, age, gender, school status, family structure, reasons for admission, source of referral, length of stay on the unit, DSM-IV psychiatric diagnosis and the rate of multiple diagnosis, previous admission of psychiatric inpatient unit, history of substance use and sexual abuse, and family history of mental illness. Data reşected only the first psychiatric admission for each youth within the year.

Results: Completed data were available for 599 admissions in 472 patients (11-18 years old); 255 (54.0%) were female and 385 (81.6%) patients admitted only once in a year. Mean age was 15.73 years (SD=1.43). Of patients, 40.7 percent (n=187) were still at school and 67.5 percent (n=311) had the nuclear or extended family. While the most common reason for admission was risk of suicidality (43.9%; n=206), 52.3 percent of patients (n=247) were referred from psychiatric emergency department. The mean length of stay of admissions on the unit was 9.58 days (SD=11.97). One hundred thirty six patients (29.5%) had two and more diagnoses. Seventy seven patients (16.3%) were previously admitted to an inpatient unit. Of patients, 26.7 percent had a history of substance use (n=126), and 17.4 percent had a history of sexual abuse (n=82). In this study, 67.1 percent (n=281) had family history of mental illness.

Conclusion: It was found that of patients, most had one diagnosis, admitted only once in a year and had no previous admission to an inpatient unit, and half were referred from psychiatric emergency department. Also, the mean length of stay in patients on the unit were shorter than of those in the literature. These findings indicate that child and adolescent inpatient unit in mental health hospital might have an important role in crisis intervention in Turkey.