The role of suicide risk in the decision for psychiatric hospitalization after a suicide attempt.

Link to article at PubMed

The role of suicide risk in the decision for psychiatric hospitalization after a suicide attempt.

Crisis. 2011;32(2):65-73

Authors: Miret M, Nuevo R, Morant C, Sainz-Cortón E, Jiménez-Arriero MÁ, López-Ibor JJ, Reneses B, Saiz-Ruiz J, Baca-García E, Ayuso-Mateos JL

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Suicide prevention can be improved by knowing which variables physicians take into account when considering hospitalization or discharge of patients who have attempted suicide.
AIMS: To test whether suicide risk is an adequate explanatory variable for predicting admission to a psychiatric unit after a suicide attempt.
METHODS: Analyses of 840 clinical records of patients who had attempted suicide (66.3% women) at four public general hospitals in Madrid (Spain).
RESULTS: 180 (21.4%) patients were admitted to psychiatric units. Logistic regression analyses showed that explanatory variables predicting admission were: male gender; previous psychiatric hospitalization; psychiatric disorder; not having a substance-related disorder; use of a lethal method; delay until discovery of more than one hour; previous attempts; suicidal ideation; high suicidal planning; and lack of verbalization of adequate criticism of the attempt.
CONCLUSIONS: Suicide risk appears to be an adequate explanatory variable for predicting the decision to admit a patient to a psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt, although the introduction of other variables improves the model. These results provide additional information regarding factors involved in everyday medical practice in emergency settings.

PMID: 21616755 [PubMed - in process]

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