Mental Health Medication Use In Parents After A Child’s PICU Admission

journals.lww.com September 21, 2019

This was the first large study to examine mental health medication use in parents after PICU admission for their children.

Antidepressant and anxiolytic incidence rates for parents with critically ill children increased in the 12 month period following PICU discharge.

A total of 53, 654 PICU patients and 95, 070 parents were identified. AD or AX prescriptions were present in 15% of parents in the 6 months before hospitalization.

Post-6 months PICU stay, 2,389 of mothers had stopped AD + AX use, and 8.4% of mothers had new prescriptions, for a net increase of 1.4% compared to pre-PICU rates.

We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study using claims data, 2006 – 2013. We included surviving children with one PICU admission who had continuous enrollment for a minimum of 6 months before and after the admission, and their parents.