Symptoms of psychiatric diseases in a pediatric neurology department

Abstract

<b>Introduction</b>: The present study investigated the comorbidity of psychiatric symptoms among patients with neurological diseases and the possibility of the symptoms of mental disorders being masking by the symptoms of somatic disorders. <br /> <b>Material and methods</b>: Eight thousand two hundred and one epicrises of all patients hospitalized at the Department of Developmental Neurology from 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2013 were analyzed in order to select a group of patients referred for consultation with a child psychiatrist. The epicrises were analyzed in terms of diagnosis and the most common psychopathological symptoms on the basis of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children – Present and Lifetime (K-SADS-PL).<br /> <b>Results</b>: As a result of the analysis a group of 345 patients with serious symptoms requiring psychiatric consultation was selected. In the selected group, patients had the diagnosis of neurological as well as psychiatric diseases. The most frequently mentioned were: epilepsy (13.3%), emotional disorders (11.3%), tension-type headaches (11.3%) and conversion disorders (8.4%). Dominating psychopathological symptoms were: anxiety (64%), symptoms of mood disorders (31.6%) and signs of inattention (19.7%). Suicidal ideation was manifested by 21 (6.08%) persons. <br /> <b>Conclusions</b>: There is a need for careful observation of the mental state of each patient of a pediatric neurology department by an interdisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists and support staff.