Methods used in suicide attempts and sociodemographic characteristics of patients treated at the emergency department of a teaching hospital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-6108.2016.4.24467Keywords:
suicide, attempted, emergency medical services, toxic substances, epidemiology.Abstract
Aims: To assess the methods used in suicide attempts and sociodemographic characteristics of suicidal patients treated at the emergency department of a teaching hospital.
Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective study, with active search for electronic medical records of patients treated at the emergency department of a public teaching hospital in the countryside of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from January to December 2015. All cases of suicide attempt were included, regardless of the suicide methods used. Successful suicide cases were not investigated. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and Pearson’s chi-square test.
Results: A total of 233 patients treated at the emergency department were referred for psychiatric evaluation, and 122 of them had attempted suicide. The mean age of the suicidal patients was 36.8±14.3 years, (minimum of 14 years and maximum of 88 years) and 74 (60.6%) of them were female. The most common suicide attempt methods were ingestion of medications (72 cases, 59%) and of pesticide (14 cases, 11.5%). Of all patients, 119 (97.5%) lived in Santa Cruz do Sul, predominantly in the urban area (103 patients, 84.4%). Of the 50 (41.0%) referrals, 32 (64.0%) were sent to the Center for Psychosocial Care, 7 (14%) to the Center for Children’s and Adolescents’ Psychosocial Care, 6 (12%) were admitted to a mental health unit, and 5 (10%) were sent to Psychosocial Care Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Sixty-six (54.1%) patients had no electronic medical records of their outcome after discharge and 6 (4.9%) were lost to follow-up.
Conclusions: Most of the treated suicidal patients were young adult females. The most common method of suicide attempt was the ingestion of medications, followed by the ingestion of pesticides.Downloads
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