Pediatric mental health visits with prolonged length of stay in community emergency departments during COVID-19

ObjectivesTo characterize trends in pediatric mental health visit counts, including visits for prolonged length of stay (LOS), in a sample of emergency departments (EDs) from 29 states during COVID-19. MethodsWe performed a secondary analysis of the Clinical Emergency Data Registry from January 2020 through December 2021. We reported trends in pediatric mental health visit counts overall and for those with prolonged ED LOS. We reported incident rate ratios (IRRs) for monthly counts compared to January 2020. Among visits with LOS >24 hours, we reported on the most common diagnostic categories. ResultsThere were 107 EDs from 29 states with available complete data in 2020 and 2021. Pediatric mental health visit counts resulting in a LOS greater than 6, 12, and 24 hours were higher for much of 2021. At their peak, there were 604 visits with LOS >12 hours (IRR, 2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.86-2.47) and 262 visits (IRR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.97-3.09) with LOS >24 hours in April 2021. Pediatric mental health visits with LOS >12 hours and >24 hours made up 20.9% and 7.3% of pediatric mental health visits overall, respectively. For visits with ED LOS >24 hours, the most common diagnostic categories were suicide or self-injury, depressive disorders, and mental health syndrome. ConclusionsIn 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. These findings are indicative of an increasingly strained emergency and mental health system.