Childhood Depression: About 40 Cases Treated in the Child Psychiatry Unit of the Psychiatric Department of Conakry

Abstract

Background :

In this study we sought to determine the prevalence of depression in children, identify the contributing factors, the clinical signs and describe the various therapeutic behaviors

Methods:

It is a retrospective, descriptive and transversal study of ten years duration (from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2019). It focused on 40 cases of depression in children aged from 1 to 12 years old and whose files included the different parameters of our study.

Results:

The prevalence of depression was 10.25%. The 20 cases collected were between 6 and 12 years old, 60% were male and 70% were referred by the nursing staff. The symptomatology described in the literature has been found in the majority of our patients. Ambulatory follow-up was the most predominant follow-up method, 95%; the combination of drug therapy and psychotherapy was the most used type of treatment, equivalent to 85%. The evolution was marked by complete remission (95%) of the symptomatology.

Depression is a psychopathological disorder whose consequences are numerous, often identified at the relational and school level. This clinical reality is still unknown by the majority of the population and even by the Guinean medical community.

Conclusion

An awareness work on psychopathological disorders in children in general and depression in particular would be necessary.