Introduction:

Mental health-related consultations have increased in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to describe the profile of patients who come to the PED and identify the variations inherent to the post-pandemic period.

Materials and Methods:

This was an observational, descriptive, retrospective and comparative study of children and adolescents who came to the PED of the FCM UNA (School of Medical Sciences of Asuncion National University) for mental health-related reasons in two time periods, considering the COVID-19 quarantine. Demographic and clinical variables were described and the differences found were analyzed.

Results:

A 3-fold increase in consultation rates was observed, the predominant sex was female, adolescents consulted more frequently. Anxiety attacks were the predominant chief complaint (25% and 15%, p: 0.007, OR: 0.5) followed by an increase in hallucinations (2% and 6%, p: 0.04. OR 3.4). There was an increase in the diagnosis of depressive disorders (29% and 45%, p: 0.0007, OR: 2) and a decrease in anxiety disorders (27% and 18.5%, p: 0.04, OR: 0.6) and personality disorders (8.5% and 4%, p: 0.02, OR: 0.4). There was no significant difference in the frequency of suicide attempts, the most frequent mechanism was the ingestion of medications or toxic substances.

Conclusion:

Consultations related to mental health showed an increase in the post-quarantine period, and were more frequent in female adolescents. An increase in the frequency of depressive disorders and a decrease in anxiety disorders was observed. The frequency of suicidal attempts and thoughts did not vary.

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