ABSTRACT
In 2020, a nationwide shift to telepsychiatry occurred in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdowns. To assess the rates of telepsychiatry appointment attendance pre- and post-lockdown, we conducted a national, multi-site survey of appointments in 2020 compared to a similar time period in 2019, at outpatient child psychiatry clinics that specialize in the treatment of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Developmental Disabilities (DD). ASD/DD clinics rapidly shifted to telepsychiatry, returning to pre-pandemic appointment numbers and completion rates within months. We advocate for the continued funding of this care model, discuss the substantial benefits physicians, patients and families have found in using telepsychiatry, and suggest ways to improve future access for ASD/DD telepsychiatry.
Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder , COVID-19 , Psychiatry , Telemedicine , Child , Humans , Pandemics , Autism Spectrum Disorder/therapy , Developmental Disabilities/therapy , Communicable Disease ControlABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prevented a group-based partial hospitalization program (PHP) from running in-person care due to social distancing guidelines. However, the crisis also simultaneously increased stress on families while decreasing their desire to hospitalize youth for a nonmedical issue. Hence, the need for a PHP remained high. Health care organizations worked diligently to create a secure telehealth platform (tele-PHP) to be delivered to patients in their home environments. This article describes the development and implementation of child and adolescent tele-PHPs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These new programs were started in mid-March 2020, and changes were implemented over the next 3 to 4 weeks. Overall, patients and families have been receptive to behavioral health services delivered through telemedicine. While tele-PHPs are the most plausible solution to continue behavioral health care for these patients, some challenges were observed during this process. Besides procedural and technological challenges associated with creating a virtual setup, other difficulties include variable patient engagement, specific treatment-related challenges, and system-related changes. These challenges are addressed through psychoeducation, provision of online measures to assess treatment outcomes, and efforts to optimize parent engagement prior to treatment initiation for better treatment adherence. Initial experiences during a time of crisis suggest that tele-PHP services can be a viable long-term treatment option in the future during both a disaster and routine times to improve access for those who otherwise cannot take advantage of such services. Long-term effectiveness of these interventions still needs to be explored.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Day Care, Medical/methods , Pandemics , Patient Participation , Pneumonia, Viral , Telemedicine/methods , Adolescent , Adolescent Psychiatry , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Child , Child Psychiatry , Humans , Parents , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Recently, severe manifestations associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have been recognized. Analysis of studies for this novel syndrome is needed for a better understanding of effective management among affected children. METHODS: An extensive search strategy was conducted by combining the terms multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and coronavirus infection or using the term multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children in bibliographic electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL) and in preprint servers (BioRxiv.org and MedRxiv.org) following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Metaanalyses guidelines to retrieve all articles published from January 1, 2020, to July 31, 2020. Observational cross-sectional, cohort, case series, and case reports were included. RESULTS: A total of 328 articles were identified. Sixteen studies with 655 participants (3 months-20 years of age) were included in the final analysis. Most of the children in reported studies presented with fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, and Kawasaki Disease-like symptoms. Sixty-eight percent of the patients required critical care; 40% needed inotropes; 34% received anticoagulation; and 15% required mechanical ventilation. More than two-thirds of the patients received intravenous immunoglobulin and 49% received corticosteroids. Remdesivir and convalescent plasma were the least commonly utilized therapies. Left ventricular dysfunction was reported in 32% of patients. Among patients presenting with KD-like symptoms, 23% developed coronary abnormalities and 26% had circulatory shock. The majority recovered; 11 (1.7%) children died. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review delineates and summarizes clinical features, management, and outcomes of MIS-C associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although most children required intensive care and immunomodulatory therapies, favorable outcomes were reported in the majority with low-mortality rates.