Evaluation of child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the changes in volume and diagnostic profile of outpatient admissions to a university hospital's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic, by comparing data from the pre-pandemic period and the first year of the pandemic. Material and Methods: Admissions made between March 2019-February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and March 2020-February 2021 (pandemic) to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Hacettepe University were analyzed. Number of admissions, frequency, age and gender distribution, and ICD-10 diagnostic categories were compared. In addition, referral rates from pediatric emergency, general pediatrics, and adolescent medicine units were examined. Data were retrospectively obtained from patient files and analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results: There was a 19% decrease in the total number of outpatient admissions during the pandemic. However, no significant difference was found in the number of new admissions. The mean age of children was significantly higher in the pandemic period (p<0.001). No significant difference was found in gender distribution. During the pandemic, the proportion of anxiety disorders increased significantly (p=0.001), whereas rates of specific learning disorders (p<0.001), decreased. Conclusion: Findings indicate a qualitative shift in child and adolescent mental health service use during the pandemic, with increase in anxiety disorders and decrease in specific learning disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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