The impact of the two-year COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admission and readmissions of children and adolescents because of mental health problems.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the specific risk factors and psycho-social and clinical features of hospitalized neuropsychiatric patients during the COVID pandemic and to analyze the hospital readmission phenomenon, which, according to recent studies, increased in frequency during the first pandemic period.

Patients And Methods: This observational retrospective cohort study examined 375 patients aged between 0 and 17 years who were hospitalized between 1 February 2018 and 31 March 2022 due to neuropsychiatric issues. The majority of the patients were girls: there were 265 girls compared to 110 boys ( = 13.

Efficacy and safety of ketamine for neonatal refractory status epilepticus: case report and systematic review.

Background: Evidence-based data on treatment of neonatal status epilepticus (SE) are scarce. We aimed to collect data on the efficacy and safety of ketamine for the treatment of neonatal SE and to assess its possible role in the treatment of neonatal SE.

Methods: We described a novel case and conducted a systematic literature review on neonatal SE treated with ketamine.

Emotional Experience and Regulation in Juvenile Primary Headaches: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study.

A headache is the most common neurological symptom in children. Its subtypes are migraine (MH) and tension-type headache (TTH). Internalizing rather than externalizing symptoms are more frequent in children with headaches, but little is known about the reasons why.

Hospitalisation in Child Neuropsychiatry: A Case Study Along a Five-Year Epidemiological-Clinical Trend.

Objective: In Italy, the number of patients admitted to child and adolescent neuropsychiatry services has almost doubled in the last 10 years. Despite this significant increase in demand, there is still a paucity of literature on mental disorders in the paediatric population. Therefore, we investigated and described the clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of a sample of young Italian inpatients with psychiatric disorders.

Alexithymia and Psychopathological Manifestations Centered on the Body: Somatization and Self-Harm.

The present study aimed to investigate alexithymia and psychopathological manifestations centered on the body in a sample of adolescents with somatizing and/or self-harming issues to analyze the phenomenon of NSSI linked to Somatic Symptom Disorders (SSD). A sample of 184 adolescents between 12 and 19 years of age, was divided into three groups, one with NSSI ( = 49) and the second group with SSD ( = 57), comparing them with a third group of adolescents with SSD and NSSI ( = 78) to investigate their differences and similarities in psychopathological correlates and to analyze the mediation role of alexithymia and emotional dysregulation in NSSI and SSD related to internalizing problems. The battery of tests included the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Youth Self-Report 11-18 (YSR).

Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of paediatric patients admitted to a neuropsychiatric care hospital in the COVID-19 era.

Background: Since the first months of 2020, Italy and the world have been facing the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the dangerous and potentially deadly effects on physical health, it has caused a radical change in the lifestyle of the population and a potential danger for mental health too. These events were inserted into the context of a growing epidemiological trend regarding children's psychiatric disorders in the past decade.

Children with Psychopathology and Their Parents Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: This case-control study aimed to explore the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the mental well-being of pediatric psychiatric outpatients and their families, comparing them with children/adolescents and their parents from the general population.

Method: The case group consisted of 168 subjects: 56 patients (6-18 years old) with psychiatric disorders, and their 112 parents. The healthy control group included 189 subjects: 63 children and adolescents with no psychopathologies, and their 126 parents.

Parental Bonding and Children's Psychopathology: A Transgenerational View Point.

Literature confirmed parental bonding as one of key factors influencing offspring's psychopathology; the present study aimed to investigate, with a case-control study, the relationship between parental bonding and psychopathology in an Italian adolescent sample. The clinical sample was composed of 64 adolescents from 12 to 18 years old (M 15.00; S.

A Retrospective Study on the Factors Associated with Long-Stay Hospitalization in a Child Neuropsychiatry Unit.

Unlabelled: The past twenty years have seen a rapid increase in acute psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents, with a subsequent rise in the number of psychiatric hospitalizations. This paper aims to: (a) describe the epidemiology of hospitalizations and some of the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of pediatric patients admitted to a regional referral Complex Operative Child Neuropsychiatry Hospital Unit in Northeast Italy and (b) identify potential factors correlated with the length of hospital stay.

Methods: 318 (M = 12.

The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study on the Emotional-Behavioral Sequelae for Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Their Families.

This study aimed to investigate the immediate and short-term impact of the pandemic on the psychological well-being of Italian children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders and their families. Overall, 56 patients aged 6-18 (M = 13.4 years, SD = 2.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenges of Catatonia in an Adolescent With High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Report.

Catatonia is a psychomotor syndrome with specific clusters of speech, behavioral and motor features. Although potentially life-threatening, especially in its malignant form accompanied with autonomic dysregulation and medical complications, it is a treatable condition, when promptly identified. For a long time catatonia was considered a marker of schizophrenia, thus limiting the possibility of diagnosis and treatment.

Boredom in Adolescence: Validation of the Italian Version of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) in Adolescents.

Boredom in adolescence is often underestimated, although it may be the sign of a profound unease or be associated with psychological disorders. Given the complexity of the construct of boredom and its increasing prevalence among adolescents in recent years, the present study aimed to validate the factorial structure of the Italian version of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) in adolescents using a cross-validation approach. The study involved 272 students (33.

The Role of Alexithymia in Social Withdrawal during Adolescence: A Case-Control Study.

Although social withdrawal is becoming increasingly common among adolescents, there is still no consensus on its definition from the diagnostic and psychopathological standpoints. So far, research has focused mainly on social withdrawal as a symptom of specific diagnostic categories, such as depression, social phobia, or anxiety disorders, or in the setting of dependence or personality disorders. Few studies have dealt with social withdrawal in terms of its syndromic significance, also considering aspects of emotion control, such as alexithymia.

Pediatric epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidity: preliminary observational data from a prospective study.

Background: Several studies have confirmed psychiatric comorbidity and a worse quality of life in children with epilepsy, but the clinical assessment and monitoring of these patients often pays insufficient attention to their psychological aspects alongside their neurological issues. The present study aims to describe the distribution of psychopathologies and their clinical evolution over 18 months in a sample of children followed up since the onset of their epilepsy.

Methods: After being diagnosed with epilepsy, 49 subjects (age 4-18 y) were followed up with psychiatric and psychological assessments based on the use of dimensional and categorical psychometric tools.