Covid-19 and mental disorders in children and adolescents: Experience of the child and adolescent psychiatry department of the Mongi Slim Hospital of Tunis

Tunis Med. 2020 Aug-Sep;98(8-9):619-624.

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major psychosocial impact on the mental health of children and adolescents, especially when the childhas mental health problems. During containment, the healthcare structures were subject to a significant restriction of their activities. The child and adolescent psychiatry department of the Mongi Slim Hospital in Tunis has set up telephone follow-up for patients deemed to be at risk. This follow-up involved 166 cases, the majority of them were suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders, followed by depressive disorders and adjustment disorders. A third of the patients had reported a worsening of the symptoms during the containment and a third had reported clinical improvement. During this follow-up, recommendations were made to parents to limit the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Maintaining follow-up of patients with mental disorders by telemedicine is a major challenge in order to prevent the repercussions of this pandemic in the long term.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Psychiatry
  • COVID-19*
  • Child
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Hospital Departments
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Tunisia / epidemiology