News: Length of stay spikes for pediatric mental health visits to emergency department, research shows
Prolonged lengths of stay (LOS) in emergency departments (ED) increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric patients with mental health conditions. According to a new study published by the Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open, such visits with a LOS greater than 12 hours accounted for 20.9% of all pediatric mental health visits. This data is in congruence with a recent alarm raised by the American College of Emergency Physicians and 34 other healthcare organizations over patients being boarded for days or weeks in EDs , HealthLeaders reported, including this demographic.
The study took data from January 2020 to December 2021 at more than 100 emergency departments in 29 states. Other key data points from the departments include:
- Pediatric mental health visits with a LOS greater than 12 hours accounted for 20.9% of all pediatric mental health visits
- Pediatric mental health visits with a LOS greater than 24 hours accounted for 7.3% of all pediatric mental health visits
- Pediatric non-mental health visits with a LOS greater than 12 hours accounted for 1.8% of all pediatric visits
- Pediatric non-mental health visits with a LOS greater than 24 hours accounted for 0.2% of all pediatric visits
- The monthly counts of pediatric EDs visits for mental health conditions peaked at 2,455 in September 2021
- The monthly counts of pediatric mental health visits with a LOS greater than 6 hours peaked at 975 in November 2021
- The most common diagnoses for pediatric mental health visits with a LOS greater than 24 hours were suicide, self-injury, and depressive disorders
The pandemic’s negative impact on healthcare, through factors such as caregiving disruptions and social isolation, is indicated by this data, the study’s co-authors wrote.
“In this sample of 107 EDs in 29 states, visit counts with prolonged LOS >24 hours more than doubled in some months since the arrival of COVID-19,” they said. “These findings are indicative of an increasingly strained emergency and mental health system.”
Editor’s note: To read HealthLeaders’ coverage of this story, click here. To read the full research article, click here.