A cross-sectional study on the characteristics and factors associated with the clinical course of child and adolescent patients hospitalized in a public child and adolescent psychiatric unit of Chile.

Introduction: Patients of the Short-stay Child and Adolescent Unit of the Del Salvador Psychiatric Hospital (Valparaiso, Chile) exhibit different clinical and social characteristics compared to literature reports of other national centers, although published data are scarce. Objectives: To describe the operation of the Unit, the socio-familial and clinical characteristics of its patients and analyze factors associated with their clinical evolution. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study to describe the patients hospitalized over a three-year period. Variables were registered in an anonymized database. Clinical evolution was evaluated over the year following hospital discharge. Results: The Unit's model of care can be described as involving biomedical, psychodynamic, and ecological components. We included 98 patients, of which 70.4% were male, and the average age was 11.5 +/- 2.3 years. 82.6% were of low socioeconomic status, and 35.7% did not attend school; 98.9% presented family dysfunction, and 91.8% of parents had a history of psychopathology. The most frequent reason for admission was the risk of harm to self or others. The most frequent discharge diagnoses were behavioral, depressive, and personality development disorders. The average length of stay was 41.8 +/- 31.1 days. The most commonly used pharmacological agents were antipsychotics and mood stabilizers. Regarding clinical evolution in the first year post-discharge, 47% were evaluated as positive, 27% regular, and 26% unsatisfactory. The factor associated with an unsatisfactory clinical course was having had in-patient antidepressants. Re-admission during the first year post-discharge was associated with comorbid substance use disorder. Treatment noncompliance was associated with a history of behavioral disorder at hospital discharge and having parents with a history of suicide or consummated suicide. Conclusions: The patient profile is one of low socioeconomic status, severe psychopathology, maladaptive behavior, family dysfunction, and parental psychopathology. Substance use disorder is also associated with readmission.