21.2 Demographic and Clinical Correlates of Admission Into a Specialized Psychiatric Inpatient Service for Children and Adolescents in Egypt: An Observational Retrospective Study

Abstract

To our knowledge, this is the first study that aims to investigate the demographic and clinical correlates of admission into a specialized inpatient psychiatric unit for children and adolescents in Egypt and the Arab world. The files of all service users who presented for care in the outpatient service for children and adolescents in Tanta University between July 2017 and December 2019 were reviewed. Of the 1195 files reviewed, 100 patients were admitted to the inpatient unit for 133 admission episodes with an average duration of 18.5 days per episode. The most common diagnosis among admitted children and adolescents was disruptive behavior disorder. Having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, eating disorder, or trauma-related disorders powerfully predicted admission. Both physical and sexual abuse also predicted admission, readmission, and longer duration of admission. The need for admission into specialized psychiatric inpatient units for children and adolescents is comparable to that in other parts of the world. There is an urgent necessity to develop such therapeutic units across the entire Arab world with subsequent need to establish suitable training programs for mental health workers to deal with children and adolescents diagnosed with severe mental health disorders in the inpatient setting.