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Access to a psychiatric emergency setting during the COVID-19 pandemic: focus on youth populations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

F. Masini*
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry
G. Caramanico
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry
G. Menculini
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry
G. Latini
Affiliation:
2School of Medicine, University of Perugia
F. De Giorgi
Affiliation:
3Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, Santa Maria Della Misericordia Hospital
K. Amantini
Affiliation:
4Psychiatric Inpatient Unit, Department of Mental Health, AUSL Umbria 1, Perugia, Italy
P. Moretti
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry
A. Tortorella
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychiatry
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The COVID-19 outbreak and the related containment measures led to the emergence of psychological distress in youth populations, possibly due to concern for their families, social isolation, increased time spent on the Internet and social media, and anxiety about the future.

Objectives

The study aims to evaluate differences in the access of children, adolescents, and young adults to a psychiatric emergency setting before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Data concerning the psychiatric consultations carried out at the Emergency Department of the University Hospital of Perugia was collected. Socio-demographic and clinical information, including diagnostic and treatment features, was entered into an electronic database. We considered two different time spans, one before (01.06.2017-31.12.2018) and one after (01.06.2020-31.12.2021) the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The characteristics of consultations carried out before and after the pandemic outbreak were compared by means of bivariate analyses (p<0.05).

Results

2,457 psychiatric consultations were carried out in the index periods. 1,319 (53.7%) were requested before, while 1,138 (46.3%) after the COVID-19 outbreak. As for the latter, these were more frequently requested for female subjects (64.2% vs 54.5%, p=0.0042), while institutionalized people underwent psychiatric consultations less frequently in the post-COVID-19 period (5.6% vs 18.2% p<0.001). A significant difference in the prevalence of anxiety disorders (9.7% post-COVID-19 vs 18.8% pre-COVID-19, p=0.009) and adjustment disorders was found (7.1% vs 1.5%, p=0.009). Substance-related disorders were significantly reduced (8.0% vs 15.8%, p=0.016) after the COVID-19 outbreak. About psychopharmacological treatment, there was an increase in people who had received treatment in the past but were no longer on treatment (52.3% vs 30.8%, p<0.001). The prescription of antipsychotics also increased (29.3% vs 18.5%, p=0.012). At discharge, subjects were more frequently hospitalized in the Psychiatric Inpatient Unit in the post-COVID-19 period (22.2% vs 12.8%, p=0.012).

Conclusions

Our data confirms the vulnerability of youth populations during the pandemic. The consequences of health emergencies on the psychological well-being of this population must not be underestimated and tailored treatment strategies should be implemented.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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