Résumé
Background: Mental health and its related problems are growing concerns over the world. The early onset of emotional and behavioral problem in the young children is related to a variety of health and behavior problems in adolescence and later life as well. Most of these children present to Pediatric outpatient clinics owing to the Stigma and lack of awareness. The aim of the study is to find out the pattern and prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in children presenting to pediatric outpatient clinics.Methods: It is a cross sectional, point prevalence study of children who have attended Child Guidance Clinic of Pediatric Department in a tertiary care teaching hospital October 2019 to January 2020. Clinical and demographic details was collected in a semi-structured proforma and the details were analyzed.Results: A total of 114 children were analyzed during the study period and this study comprised of 62 boys and 52 girls. Most of the children belonged to the age group of 11-15 years (51%) followed by the ages of 6-10(29.8%). Most common reason for consultation was change in behavior, school refusal and poor academic performance. The most common diagnosis made was Dissociative Conversion Disorder (17.6%), Nocturnal enuresis (15.7%), Mild Mental Retardation (10.5%) and Seizure Disorder with Behavioral Problems (10.5%).Conclusions: A significant number of children attending the Paediatric OPD of general hospitals have psychiatric disorders. The emotional and behavioral problems in children often present with physical symptoms. An effective liaison of services will help to identify and treat children with psychiatric morbidity.
Résumé
Background: Developmental disabilities occur in approximately 5-10% of the childhood population. The paucity of data regarding the burden and risk factors slows down the programs and policymaking actions for these highly prevalent conditions in developing countries.Methods: A retrospective review of records of 264 children below 12 years referred to CGC of a Tertiary Care Hospital from November 2016 to December 2018 was done. Data was analysed using SPSS software and is described in terms of frequency and mean.''''Results: 264 new cases that were referred to the CGC were enrolled. The mean age of referral was 2.54 yrs. ('1.00) with M: F ratio being 1.4:1. In religion, Hindu predominance (56.4%) was found.76.5% hailed from urban area. 39% of all cases showed Consanguinity.37% belonged to Class IV(Upper Lower) and 89% had chronic malnutrition. 46.2% of cases had NICU stay of which perinatal asphyxia(PA) was found in 40%.Majority of children (45.7%) had Global developmental delay (GDD)/Mental Retardation (MR), 37.7% had various forms of CP, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) was seen in 13%, 3.4% had Autism, 4.5% had specific language disorder, Learning disability' was seen in 2.7% and only 2.7% had Isolated motor delay.Conclusions: Early Intervention services for children lag behind in developing countries and the proportion of children referred to CGC with severe disabling conditions is high. This study provides baseline data for further planning of services and interventions for these children in Maharashtra.