The evaluation and treatment of adolescent overdoses in an adolescent medical service

Aspects of the mental health care provided in an adolescent medical setting are examined. Over a six-month period, 38 patients were admitted to an inpatient adolescent medical unit because of drug ingestion. Following evaluation by the adolescent medical team, psychiatric consultations were requested in 47 percent of the cases. Most patients were referred for follow-up "counseling" in an adolescent clinic. In comparing the "consult" and "non-consult" groups, data are given on the demographics, diagnoses, reasons for the consultation request, lengths of hospital admission, follow-up dispositions, and compliances. Illustrations are given of the counseling process in the adolescent clinic. Patients in both groups had substantial psychosocial problems. Many patients received conduct-disorder diagnoses with varying degrees of subjective distress. It was generally the degree of depression, as assessed by the pediatrician, that determined whether a psychiatric consultation was requested. The acceptance of follow-up recommendations was approximately 50 to 60 percent in both groups.