Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

May 3, 2021

US Pediatric Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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  • A study of pediatric emergency department (ED) mental health (MH) visits found that although the mean number of monthly visits significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 339 to 261 visits per month), the proportion of ED visits for MH conditions significantly increased (from 4.0% to 5.7%). Data were collected from electronic medical records of 11,490 patients aged 5 to 24 years between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2021. Patients with ED MH visits before the pandemic were significantly more likely than those with visits after the pandemic to be female (56.8% to 62.6%), white (34.8% to 39.5%), and older than 12 years of age (70.7% to 77.6%). Patients with MH conditions presenting during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher adjusted odds of hospital admission (aOR = 1.4), and the adjusted length of hospital stay was 3.4 days longer during the pandemic. 

Krass et al. (Apr 30, 2021). US Pediatric Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.8533