Guo Bei-Cyuan, Chen Ying-Ju, Huang Wun-Yan, Lin Mao-Jen, Wu Han-Ping
Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Department of Rehabilitation, New Tai-Ping Cheng Ching Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
Front Psychol. 2023 Oct 16;14:1281806. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1281806. eCollection 2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on pediatric patients, increasing their vulnerability to psychological fragility. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of pediatric psychological fragility and suicide attempts in the emergency department (ED) before and after the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak.
A total of 340 pediatric patients admitted to the ED for psychological fragility between 2019 and 2022 were retrospectively collated and categorized according to three periods: pre pandemic, pandemic, and post pandemic. Epidemiological and clinical information were analyzed and compared among the three groups. Moreover, patients with suicidal ideation or suicidal attempts and types of substance use disorders in children with suicidal attempts sent to the ED were analyzed.
The proportion of psychological fragility increased during the pandemic period (0.4%) and the post-pandemic period (0.8%) compared to that in the pre-pandemic period (0.28%). Suicide ideation was the highest before the pandemic period (0.04%), while suicidal attempts were the highest in the post pandemic period (0.42%). Significantly elevated trends in suicide attempts involving overdose and injury were observed among the three groups ( < 0.05). Intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates increased significantly after the COVID-19 outbreak ( < 0.05), and major depressive disorder was the most common psychological fragility in the ED in all three groups.
An increase in the proportion of pediatric psychological fragility in the ED was noted in the post pandemic period than before or during the pandemic. With higher rates of ICU admissions and an increase in suicide attempts among children and adolescents during the pandemic compared to before or after the pandemic, it is of utmost importance to provide mental health support to this vulnerable population in order to prevent suicide attempts in the event of a new global outbreak of infectious diseases.
新冠疫情对儿科患者产生了重大影响，增加了他们心理脆弱的易感性。本研究的目的是调查新冠疫情爆发前后急诊科（ED）儿科心理脆弱及自杀未遂的流行病学和临床特征。
回顾性整理了2019年至2022年期间因心理脆弱入住急诊科的340名儿科患者，并根据三个时期进行分类：疫情前、疫情期间和疫情后。对三组的流行病学和临床信息进行了分析和比较。此外，还分析了急诊科收治的有自杀意念或自杀未遂的患者以及自杀未遂儿童的物质使用障碍类型。
与疫情前时期（0.28%）相比，疫情期间（0.4%）和疫情后时期（0.8%）心理脆弱的比例有所增加。自杀意念在疫情前时期最高（0.04%），而自杀未遂在疫情后时期最高（0.42%）。三组中涉及过量用药和伤害的自杀未遂有显著上升趋势（<0.05）。新冠疫情爆发后，重症监护病房（ICU）入住率显著增加（<0.05），在所有三组中，重度抑郁症是急诊科最常见的心理脆弱类型。
与疫情前或疫情期间相比，疫情后时期急诊科儿科心理脆弱的比例有所增加。与疫情前或疫情后相比，疫情期间儿童和青少年的ICU入住率更高，自杀未遂的情况有所增加，因此为这一脆弱人群提供心理健康支持以预防在新的全球传染病爆发时的自杀未遂至关重要。
