The black hole of the transition process: dropout of care before transition age in adolescents.

Recent evidence confirms the risks of discontinuity of care when young people make a transition from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult mental health services (AMHS), although robust data are still sparse. We aimed to identify when and how patients get lost to care during transition by tracking care pathways and identifying factors which influence dropping out of care during transition. This is a retrospective observational study of 760 patients who reached the transition age boundary within 12 months before transition time and being treated at CAMHS for at least during preceding 18 months.