ABSTRACT
Blackground: Five percent of children and adolescents consults in mental health services in one year. Approximately one every ten children has a mental health problem. Aim To assess clinical and demographic factors of children and adolescents hospitalized by psychiatric cause in a university psychiatric clinic. Patients and Methods: Review of medical records of 167 subjects aged 9 to 17 years, 97 women, admitted to a Psychiatric Service in the period 2001-2004. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) manual of the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA) was used to classify admission complaints and symptoms and DSMIV to classify psychiatric disorders. Results: Mean hospital stay was 11+8 days. The main admission causes were suicidal attempts and psychomotor agitation/impulsive behavior in 54 percent and 26 percent of cases, respectively. The main psychiatric diagnoses were depressive disorder, suicide attempt and bipolar disorder. In 69 percent of patients, the personality diagnosis was deferred. Only 25 percent of families were considered functional. Conclusions: Affective disorders and suicidal behavior are the main psychiatric diagnoses at discharge in children and adolescents admitted to a psychiatric impatient service.