title: Psychiatric illness in the paediatric population presenting to a psychiatry clinic in a tertiary care centre.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A variety of psychiatric manifestations can be seen in children below the age of 18 years. Such cases rarely present directly to psychiatric care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study in Tertiary care hospital . The study population included all the patients of paediatric age group presenting to Psychiatry Outpatient Department of Dhulikhel Hospital directly or referred by a paediatrician or other specialists from October 2008 to October 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the paediatric population evaluated in the psychiatry clinic for two years from October 2008 to October 2010 (N = 168), 66.7% were in the age group 15-18 years {mean = 14.77 (± 2.99)}, 71.4% were female and 42.3% belonged to Brahmin cast. The highest number of (15%) patients was seen during the month of August 2010. Six months analysis of the psychiatric illnesses of the patients from April 2010 up to October 2010 (n = 80) showed dissociative disorder (15%), and seizure disorder (15%) to be the most common diagnoses, followed by depressive disorder and intentional self harm (ISH) (13.8% each). 15% of patients were found to be treated by magico-religious means, with the majority of patients (66.7%) diagnosed as having dissociative disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of the paediatric population presenting to a psychiatry clinic were in the age group 15-18 years and of female sex. Dissociative disorder was the most common diagnosis followed by depressive disorders. The majority of patients with dissociative disorder had previously been treated by magico-religious means.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Dhulikhel Hospital - Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel, Nepal. drajayrisal@gmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Risal
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies