DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2022.v10i10.019

Pages: 1700-1705

Since 2012, when the juvenile psychiatry unit of Casablanca was created, children and adolescents in psychological distress or suffering from psychiatric disorders are cared for by a multidisciplinary team. The Early Childhood Unit (ECU) receives children from 0 to 6 years old, requiring a diagnostic assessment and/or therapeutic care. Objective: The aim of our study was to describe the profile of patients with a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD); autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among others. Patients and Methods: We conducted a descriptive study including all children hospitalized at the ECU, in the child psychiatry department of the University Hospital of Casablanca, from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2019. A descriptive analysis of sociodemographic, clinical and care arrangements have been made. Results: A total of 135 children were included in the study, 83% of them were boys. The mean age during hospitalization was 3.4 years. Consanguinity was found in 8.7% of cases. All the children were admitted on a part-time basis: day hospital, with an average of 71 days. The period between the parents' first concerns and the beginning of follow-up was 10 months, and the average age at diagnosis was 44 months. The main diagnoses made were autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 55.5% and Global Developmental Delay (GDD) 20.1%. Our descriptive results are comparable to those of the literature, and are preliminary to future studies on the involvement of certain risk factors in the occurrence of NDDs.