How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic admissions? A single-center, retrospective study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures for controlling the pandemic adversely affected child and adolescent mental health; however, studies that examined the effects of the pandemic on child and adolescent mental health services are limited. This study aimed to determine the changes in admission to a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic (CAPOC) in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous year. Methods: In this study, the information regarding admissions to Başkent University Faculty of Medicine’s CAPOC between March 2019 and March 2021 was examined. Information including age, sex, admission date, the form of admission (first admission/follow-up), and the diagnosis was obtained from the electronic medical record system and the differences between the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic period were assessed. Results: It was found that during the pandemic, there was a decrease in CAPOC admissions; however, both female admissions and median age increased compared with the previous year. Also, admissions due to obsessive-compulsive disorder and somatic symptom-related disorders increased. Conclusions: Although there were fewer CAPOC admissions during the pandemic period compared with the pre-pandemic period, there were differences between the age, sex, and diagnosis distributions of the patients between the pandemic and the pre-pandemic period. Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CAPOC admissions will help plan child and adolescent mental health protective measures.