A child psychiatric hospital's first and second admissions: comparative studies.

This article compares first and second admissions (readmissions) to a Child Psychiatric Hospital to identify some demographic factors related to readmissions. Male children and children who were younger at the time of the initial (first) admission were more predominant in readmissions. Interestingly, the most common denominator in readmissions, irrespective of gender, race and psychiatric diagnosis, is the length of hospitalization at the time of the initial admission. Initial hospital stay was shorter in second admissions than in first admissions. This finding raises questions as to the value of early discharge of the child psychiatric patient from a hospital without providing a continuum of psychiatric care.