Major depressive disorders in paediatric surgical patients: An overview of the Nigerian adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: Less than three decades ago, depression was seen as a predominantly adult disorder as children were considered too  developmentally immature to experience depressive disorders, and adolescent low mood was considered as part of ‘normal’ teenage  mood swings. Major depressive disorder in children and adolescents is a serious psychiatric illness especially in paediatric surgical  patients. This may be due to their altered metabolic rate and heighten metabolic response to trauma which has significant implications  for the psychological development of the child, yet it remains under-recognized and undertreated. The well-being of the care givers is  also not left out as the care givers are inundated with the task of sourcing and providing finance for hospital care., in addition to the  stress of providing care for the patient. This may result in loss of man hour, sleeplessness, and physical exhaustion associated with caring  for these ill children which can ultimately significantly increase the risk of them having depressive episode. The aim of this  commentary is to highlight the fact that paediatric surgical patients are not exempt to having a major depressive disorder and the care  givers should also be evaluated during hospital admission of their wards.

Methodology: This is a commentary on depressive disorders  among Nigerian paediatric surgical patients. Related publications on children and adolescents presenting to hospital were searched  using the domain – Depression in Nigerian adolescent, Paediatric surgery patients on PubMed, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE to appraise  this review.

Conclusion: Mood disorders, especially depression in children and adolescents have been studied increasingly over the last  two decades and surgical conditions worsen the outlook, culminating in increased knowledge about the presentation, and treatment.  Despite this, it is still often missed or misdiagnosed because it sometimes presents with uncharacteristic symptoms. Prevalence of  depressiion among paediatric surgical patient were found to be between 46-82% in this review among Nigerian patients.