Clinical profile and sex differences in Brazilian children and adolescents receiving psychiatric services in the emergency department

OBJECTIVE: We present a survey of sex differences and socio-demographic and clinical variables in children and adolescents receiving a psychiatric consultation service in an emergency department (ED). METHODS: This observational, retrospective, and cross-sectional study included all records of patients (age, RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-nine records of children and adolescents were located. The mean age of the participants was 14.19 years, and most subjects were female (59.5%) and had private health insurance (83.7%). Most participants (87.4%) were accompanied by their parents. The main complaints were suicide attempts (21.8%) and psychomotor agitation/aggressiveness (21.8%). Unipolar depression (37.8%) and adjustment, reactive, and anxiety disorders (13.7%) were the most prevalent diagnoses. Most patients received an indication of psychiatric hospitalization (51.7%). Females had more suicide attempts than males (28.3% vs 12.4%) and less psychomotor agitation/aggressiveness than males (15.5% vs 31.4%). Females also exhibited more unipolar depression (47.6% vs 23.5%), fewer psychotic disorders (4.2% vs 16.3%), and substance use/misuse (1.4% vs 13.3%) than males. Males needed more psychiatric medication during evaluation (37.9% vs 19.2%). CONCLUSIONS: This survey of the profile of pediatric patients evaluated by a psychiatric service in an ED in Brazil was the first of its kind. The large percentage of patients referred for hospitalization highlights the importance of specialized psychiatry care for this age group in this facility, which is a common entry point for mental health care. Language: en