Akutversorgung psychisch kranker Kinder und Jugendlicher: Eine Pilotstudie an 257 PatientInnen

SARS-CoV-2 and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergencies at the Tübingen University Hospital: Analyzing Trends, Diagnoses, and Contributing Factors

Psychiatric emergencies have increased in recent decades, particularly with the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and far too little is known about the backgrounds of these emergencies. In this study, we investigated the extent to which the number of psychiatric emergencies changed during and in the aftermath of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Tübingen. We considered age and psychiatric diagnoses. Additionally, we evaluated the backgrounds of the emergencies. We applied a mixed- (quantitative and qualitative) methods approach to data on emergency presentations at the CAP Tübingen from the pre-SARS-CoV-2 pandemic period (October 2019-January 2020) to Restriction Phase 1 (October 2020-January 2021), Restriction Phase 2 (October 2021-January 2022), and endemic phase (October 2022-January 2023). The total number of emergencies and those with eating disorders and affective disorders increased, while obsessive-compulsive disorders, expansive disorders and anxiety disorders decreased. The patients presenting in the pre-SARS-CoV-2 pandemic period were younger than those in the subsequent periods. We content-coded the reasons behind the emergency presentations. We also identified four areas of stressors and personality characteristics associated with the emergency presentations. In light of the increasing number of psychiatric emergencies, the long-term aim should be to meet the growing demands and create options for prevention.

[Inpatient care capacities in child and adolescent psychiatry-increase in emergency admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic?]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying containment measures have had a fundamental impact on the mental health of children and adolescents. In the present study, the emergency admissions of the first two Corona years (2020/21) at the Department for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Hall i. T./Innsbruck were retrospectively analysed and compared with the two years before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018/19). There was no change in the total number of emergency admissions in 2020 compared to 2019 before Corona, but in 2021 emergency admissions increased by 40.1%. The pre-Corona (2018/19) gender ratio of 65.4% girls to 34.6% boys did not change in 2020. In 2021, the proportion of girls increased to 74.4%. In the COVID-19 pandemic, acute suicidality increased (+48.3%) while aggression decreased (-51.0%). Acute intoxications increased in the first Corona year and decreased again in 2021. The present study results show that the mental health needs of children and adolescents increased significantly in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and that this was also reflected in child and adolescent psychiatry. The increased demands must now be met with appropriate care and prevention measures as well as sufficient child and adolescent psychiatric bed capacities in order to mitigate the longer-term psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as best as possible.