Introduction:

In high-income countries, approximately 10% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits are related to mental health disorders. This proportion may be higher in low- and middle-income countries due to adverse socioeconomic conditions.

Objective:

To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pediatric patients referred from the ED to the Mental Health Department of a public tertiary hospital in 2022.

Materials and Methods:

We conducted a retrospective, observational, descriptive study. A non-probabilistic sample of consecutive patients was included based on referral records from the pediatric ED. Exclusion criteria were: incomplete medical records, outpatient consultations, and scheduled admissions. Variables analyzed included age, sex, place of origin, presenting complaint, diagnosis, and treatment. Data were analyzed using SPSS v21. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee

Results:

Among 109,964 ED visits, 298 patients (0.27%) were referred to the Mental Health Department. The mean age was 13.4 ± 3.21 years; 75.8% were female, and 71.8% resided in the Central Department. The most common presenting complaints were suicide attempts (33.6%), depressive symptoms (12.8%), and anxiety (10.4%). The most frequent diagnoses were severe depressive episodes without psychotic symptoms (36.2%), child neglect or domestic violence (28.9%), and sexual abuse (25.8%). Overall, 88.5% of patients had experienced some form of child maltreatment.

Conclusion:

Most referrals involved female adolescents from the Central Department. Suicide attempts, depressive symptoms, and anxiety were the main reasons for ED presentation. The predominant diagnoses were severe depression and various forms of child maltreatment.

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