Characteristics of Presentations to the Emergency Department Following Attempted Suicide with Drugs
| Autor: | Mirjam Kummer, Stephan Krähenbühl, Aristomenis K. Exadaktylos, Evangelia Liakoni, Thomas J. Müller |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Drug
Adult Male medicine.medical_specialty emergency department Adolescent Nausea Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis media_common.quotation_subject 610 Medicine & health Suicide Attempted Article Young Adult Patient age medicine Psychiatric hospital Humans drug poisoning suicide media_common Aged Retrospective Studies Aged 80 and over Psychotropic Drugs business.industry Poisoning Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Emergency department suicidal attempt Middle Aged University hospital Pharmaceutical Preparations Emergency medicine Vomiting Medicine Female medicine.symptom business Emergency Service Hospital Somnolence |
| Zdroj: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Kummer, Mirjam; Müller, Thomas; Exadaktylos, Aristomenis K; Krähenbühl, Stephan; Liakoni, Evangelia (2021). Characteristics of Presentations to the Emergency Department Following Attempted Suicide with Drugs. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(19) MDPI 10.3390/ijerph181910232 Volume 18 Issue 19 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 10232, p 10232 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 1660-4601 1661-7827 |
| Popis: | A relatively high proportion of attempted suicides employ self-poisoning with medication. Data from emergency department presentations can help to identify possible risk drug classes and provide a basis for preventive measures. This retrospective analysis included cases presenting at the emergency department of the University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland, from May 2012 to August 2016, after attempted suicide with drugs. We excluded attempted suicides with only alcohol or other non-medical substances. During the study period, there were 488 cases (466 patients) of attempted suicide with medical substances. The median patient age was 33 years (range 16–93) and 354 (73%) cases were female. The most commonly involved substances/drug classes were benzo-diazepines (n = 167, 34%), neuroleptics (n = 114, 23%) and paracetamol (n = 111, 23%). A total of 231 (47%) cases employed only a single substance. Common symptoms included somnolence (n = 245, 50%), tachycardia (n = 119, 24%) and nausea/vomiting (n = 76, 16%). In most cases, the poisoning was of minor severity (n = 231, 47%) and the patients were admitted to a psychiatric hospital (n = 264, 54%). Important preventive measures may include careful monitoring for suicidal behaviour when prescribing psychotropic drugs, in addition to restrictions in pack size. Efforts should also be made to enhance the awareness of health professionals qualified to prescribe or supply paracetamol. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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