UNLABELLED: Mental health needs of children and adolescents show epidemiological changes and sometimes require psychiatric hospitalization. OBJECTIVE: to perform an epidemiological characterization of children and adolescents hospitalized for mental disorders in Hospital de Niños of Córdoba. MATERIALS AND METHODS: observational retrospective study, based on clinical reports on 144 cases hospitalized during years 2009-2010. Data was processed using frequency analysis with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: 54.86% of cases corresponded to women and 45.14% to men. They were aged between 6 and 16 years, showing a higher media in women 12.87. Most frequent causes for hospitalization were: suicide attempt (25%), psychomotor agitation episodes (21.53%) and psychotic episodes (15.97%). Cases admitted for suicide attempt were not frequently treated. Most relevant psychopathological diagnoses were: behavior disorder of childhood in male, and personality disorders in women. Average stay was 21.9 days, cases that needed re-admission showed a longer time. CONCLUSIONS: most frequent causes for hospitalization were related to impulsivity-aggression symptoms showing different distributions according to gender. Pathologies must be recognized, diagnosed and treated more promptly.
UNLABELLED: Mental health needs of children and adolescents show epidemiological changes and sometimes require psychiatric hospitalization. OBJECTIVE: to perform an epidemiological characterization of children and adolescents hospitalized for mental disorders in Hospital de Niños of Córdoba. MATERIALS AND METHODS: observational retrospective study, based on clinical reports on 144 cases hospitalized during years 2009-2010. Data was processed using frequency analysis with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: 54.86% of cases corresponded to women and 45.14% to men. They were aged between 6 and 16 years, showing a higher media in women 12.87. Most frequent causes for hospitalization were: suicide attempt (25%), psychomotor agitation episodes (21.53%) and psychotic episodes (15.97%). Cases admitted for suicide attempt were not frequently treated. Most relevant psychopathological diagnoses were: behavior disorder of childhood in male, and personality disorders in women. Average stay was 21.9 days, cases that needed re-admission showed a longer time. CONCLUSIONS: most frequent causes for hospitalization were related to impulsivity-aggression symptoms showing different distributions according to gender. Pathologies must be recognized, diagnosed and treated more promptly.