Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Via dell'Istria 65/1, 34137, Trieste, Italy.
University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
Eur J Pediatr. 2021 May;180(5):1611-1615. doi: 10.1007/s00431-021-03938-y. Epub 2021 Jan 19.
The aim of the study was to investigate the burden of mental health problems in children and adolescents admitted to a pediatric ward with physical complaints. We conducted a retrospective study, considering all patients admitted to the pediatric ward of the IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy, between January 2015 and September 2016. We selected all patients, from 5 to 17 years old, who were admitted with physical complaints and were discharged with a diagnosis suggestive of a mental health problem: somatic symptom disorder, anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, factious disorders. For every patient, we collected demographic features, medical characteristics, health care services utilization, length of hospital stay, and after discharge referral. We selected 1456 patients; of these, 101 (6.9%) revealed a mental health problem. The median duration of symptoms was 5 months (IQR 1.5-12), and pain was the main reported symptom (69%). Of the 101 patients, 23 (23%) were affected by a previously documented chronic organic disease. Somatic symptom disorder was the most common diagnosis. In 69/78 patients (88%), a loss of social contacts emerged; 49/95 patients frequenting school (51%) had chronic school absenteeism in the previous school year.Conclusion: A considerable proportion of patients admitted to a pediatric ward with physical complaints have mental health problems. What is Known: • It has been suggested that mental health problems in children and adolescents are increasing and frequently burden on pediatric healthcare services, but how they impact on a general pediatric ward is not clear. What is New: • Among 1456 patients admitted to a general pediatric ward with physical symptoms, 101 patients (6.9%) had a mental health problem. Among them, pain was the most commonly reported symptom and somatic symptom disorder was the commonly reported diagnosis.
本研究旨在探讨因躯体主诉而收治于儿科病房的儿童和青少年的心理健康问题负担。我们开展了一项回顾性研究，纳入了 2015 年 1 月至 2016 年 9 月期间因躯体主诉而收治于意大利的里雅斯特布罗·加罗法洛研究所儿科病房的所有患者。我们选择了所有年龄在 5 至 17 岁之间、以躯体主诉收治、出院诊断提示存在心理健康问题（躯体症状障碍、焦虑障碍、抑郁障碍、做作障碍）的患者。我们为每位患者收集了人口统计学特征、医疗特征、卫生保健服务利用情况、住院时间以及出院后转介情况。我们共纳入了 1456 例患者，其中 101 例（6.9%）存在心理健康问题。症状的中位数持续时间为 5 个月（IQR 1.5-12），疼痛是最常见的报告症状（69%）。在 101 例患者中，23 例（23%）存在先前记录的慢性器质性疾病。躯体症状障碍是最常见的诊断。在 69/78 例（88%）患者中，出现社会接触丧失；在 49/95 例（51%）有上学经历的患者中，其在上学年存在慢性缺勤。结论：相当比例的因躯体主诉而收治于儿科病房的患者存在心理健康问题。已知情况：• 有研究提示，儿童和青少年的心理健康问题正在增加，且频繁给儿科卫生保健服务带来负担，但它们对普通儿科病房的影响尚不清楚。新发现：• 在因躯体症状而收治于普通儿科病房的 1456 例患者中，101 例（6.9%）存在心理健康问题。其中，疼痛是最常见的报告症状，躯体症状障碍是最常见的诊断。
