Psychiatric consultations in a children's hospital

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Psychiatry
• Hospital Medicine

Background:

• Psychiatric referrals are common in pediatric hospital settings.
• Understanding referral patterns and patient demographics is crucial for optimizing care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the characteristics and referral patterns of psychiatric consultations in a children's hospital.
• To identify diagnostic trends across different age groups.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 191 psychiatric referrals from medical and surgical wards.
• Analysis of patient demographics, referral sources, and diagnostic categories.

Main Results:

• Referral rate was approximately 2% of total admissions.
• Referred patients had a hospital stay over three times longer than average.
• Referral gender ratio was 1:1, contrasting with a 3:2 male to female admission ratio.
• Primary diagnoses varied by age: congenital/metabolic and psychosocial issues in infants, social/behavioral problems in children, and affective disorders in adolescents.

Conclusions:

• Psychiatric referrals represent a significant patient group with prolonged hospitalizations.
• Distinct demographic and diagnostic patterns exist across pediatric age groups.
• Further research into the underlying causes of these referrals and their impact on patient outcomes is warranted.