• Maialu Pedreira Messias, Etienne de Miranda E Silva, Mariele Hertha de Andrade, Isabela Cristina Casanova Cavallo, Lucas Pequeno Galvão, Cintia de Azevedo Marques Périco, Julio Torales, Antonio Ventriglio, João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia, and Anderson Sousa Martins-da-Silva.
• MD. Assistant Psychiatrist, Health Secretariat of São Bernardo do Campo, São Bernardo do Campo (SP), Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2022 Nov 1; 140 (6): 781786781-786.

BackgroudsChild and Adolescent Psychosocial Care Centers (Centros de Atenção Psicossocial, CAPSI) are dedicated centers for persistent psychiatric disorders, which provide an individualized therapeutic approach based on extra-hospital services.ObjectivesWe aimed to describe the clinico-epidemiological profiles of the patients seeking interventions at the CAPSIs.Design And SettingA cross-sectional study was conducted in two CAPSI in São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil. One CAPSI is dedicated to the treatment of alcohol- and drug-related disorders, and the other to the treatment of other mental disorders.MethodsIn July 2017, we reviewed all active medical records of these two CAPSI, and collected the patients information including sex, race, education, type of referral, initial complaints, psychiatric diagnoses, and medication utilization.ResultsOf the 233 patients, 69.5% were male and 42.5% lived with their immediate family. Most of the patients were referred from other health services. Complaints on admission included agitation and aggressive behavior (30.9%). Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was the most prevalent diagnosis (46.8%), followed by depressive disorder (13.8%). Of the patients, 81.5% were on regular medical follow-up and 70.3% were on a single medication only.ConclusionAggression complaints are the most prevalent in CAPSI, and diagnoses of ASD and psychotic disorders are more common. This situation differs from most CAPSI that present school complaints as the most prevalent, in which diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorders are likely to be more frequent. The epidemiological profile of each CAPSI should guide the implementation of human and structural resources targeting the most prevalent complaints and diagnoses.

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