Investigation of suicide attempts presented to the general hospital emergency service during the Covid-19 pandemic

Yıl 2022, , 49 - 54, 29.01.2022

Rümeysa Yeni Elbay , Fatma Nur Erol

https://doi.org/10.21673/anadoluklin.1029391

Öz

Aim: The aim of the present study is to examine the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of suicide attempts presenting to the general hospital emergency service during the Covid-19
pandemic.

Methods: The study was conducted by examining the medical records of patients who presented to the general hospital emergency department with a suicide attempt between February 01, 2021
and July 31, 2021.

Results: Out of 94 patients presented with suicide attempt, 59.4% were female, 34.0% were unemployed, 52.1% were single with a mean age of 35.11±14.19. Among the patients, 36 had suicide attempt(s) before. Drug overdose (86.2%) was the most common method used, followed by selfcutting (12.8%) and ingestion of rat poison (1.1%). Majority (58.5%) were discharged with psychiatric
outpatient follow-up, 27.6% were admitted to psychiatric unit, 13.8% refused psychiatric treatment. The most common age group was 25-34 years (41.5%). More than half of the cases (54.3%) had no previous psychiatric history. Between male and female patients, there was no difference in terms of presence of psychiatric diagnosis, the number of previous attempts, the method used, and the need for admission to psychiatric ward following assessment.

Conclusion: In the present study, it was observed that suicide attempts in the Covid-19 period did not differ from the literature from the pre-pandemic period regarding gender, marital status, employment status, the method used and number of attempts. However, in the current sample the age range was higher and there were more patients with no previous psychiatric history. These findings reveal the importance of facilitating access to mental health services during the pandemic period. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

Covid-19, emergency service, suicide

Covid-19 pandemisinde genel hastane acil servisine başvuran intihar girişimlerinin incelenmesi

Öz

Amaç: Çalışmanın amacı Covid-19 pandemisinde genel hastane acil servisine başvuran intihar girişimlerini sosyodemografik ve klinik özellikleri açısından incelemektir.

Yöntem: Çalışma, 01 Şubat 2021- 31 Temmuz 2021 tarihleri arasında genel hastane acil servisine intihar girişimi ile başvuran hastaların geriye dönük tıbbi kayıtları incelenerek yapılmıştır.

Bulgular: İntihar girişimi ile başvuran 94 hastanın %59,4’ü kadın, %34‘ü çalışmayan, %52,1’i bekârdır. Hastaların yaş ortalaması 35.11±14.19’dur. Hastaların 36’sı daha önce intihar girişiminde bulunmuştur. İlaç doz aşımı (%86,2) en sık kullanılan intihar yöntemidir. Bunu kendini kesme (%12,8) ve sıçan zehri (%1,1) takip eder. Başvuranların çoğu (%58,5) psikiyatri poliklinik takibi ile taburcu edilmiş, %27,6’sı psikiyatri servisine yatırılmış, %13,3’ü psikiyatrik tedaviyi reddetmiştir. En sık başvuran yaş grubu 25-34 (%41,5)’tür. Vakaların yarısından fazlasının (%54,3) daha önce psikiyatrik öyküsü bulunmamaktadır. Kadın ve erkek hastalar arasında psikiyatrik tanı varlığı, önceki girişim sayısı, kullanılan yöntem ve değerlendirme sonrası psikiyatri servisine yatış gereksinimi açısından fark yoktur.

Sonuç: Çalışmada Covid-19 döneminde intihar girişimlerinin cinsiyet, medeni durum, çalışma durumu, kullanılan yöntem ve girişim sayısı açısından pandemi öncesi döneme göre literatürden farklılık göstermediği görüldü. Ancak mevcut örneklemimizde yaş aralığı daha yüksekti ve daha önce psikiyatrik öyküsü olmayan daha fazla hasta vardı. Bu bulgular Covid-19 pandemisi döneminde ruh sağlığı hizmetlerine erişimin kolaylaştırılmasının önemini ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

acil servis, Covid-19, intihar

Kaynakça

• Sadock BJ, Sadock VA, editor. Kaplan & Sadock’s comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, Vols. 1-2. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers; 2000.
• Organization WH. Preventing suicide: a global imperative. Luxemburg: World Health Organization; 2014.
• Sayıl I. Krize müdahale ve intiharı önleme. Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi Basımevi; 2008.
• Nie XD, Wang Q, Wang MN, Zhao S, Liu L, Zhu YL, et al. Anxiety and depression and its correlates in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 in Wuhan. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2020;25(2):1-6.
• Bo H-X, Li W, Yang Y, Wang Y, Zhang Q, Cheung T, et al. Posttraumatic stress symptoms and attitude toward crisis mental health services among clinically stable patients with COVID-19 in China. Psychological medicine. 2021;51(6):1052-3.
• Saka MC. Covid-19 ve toplum ruh sağlığı. Klinik Psikiyatri. 2020;23:246-7.
• Fiorillo A, Gorwood P. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and implications for clinical practice. Eur Psychiatry. 2020;63(1):e32.
• Deng J, Zhou F, Hou W, Silver Z, Wong CY, Chang O, et al. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances in COVID‐19 patients: a meta‐analysis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2020;Special issue:1-22.
• Sher L. COVID-19, anxiety, sleep disturbances and suicide. Sleep medicine. 2020;70:124.
• Chan SMS, Chiu FKH, Lam CWL, Leung PYV, Conwell Y. Elderly suicide and the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong. International J of Geriatric Psychiatry: A J of the Psychiatry of Late Life and Allied Sciences. 2006;21(2):113-8.
• Dragovic M, Pascu V, Hall T, Ingram J, Waters F. Emergency department mental health presentations before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in Western Australia. Australasian Psychiatry. 2020;28(6):627-31.
• Tanaka T, Okamoto S. Increase in suicide following an initial decline during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Nature Human Behaviour. 2021;5(2):229-38.
• Killgore WD, Cloonan SA, Taylor EC, Allbright MC, Dailey NS. Trends in suicidal ideation over the first three months of COVID-19 lockdowns. Psychiatry Research. 2020;293:113390.
• Nock MK, Borges G, Bromet EJ, Cha CB, Kessler RC, Lee S. Suicide and suicidal behavior. Epidemiol Rev. 2008;30(1):133-54.
• Bachmann S. Epidemiology of suicide and the psychiatric perspective. International J of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018;15(7):1425.
• Erşan EE, Kılıç Ç. Evaluation of suicide attempts referring to Sivas Numune Hospital emergency department. Turkish J of Clinical Psychiatry. 2013;16(2):98-109.
• Zalar B, Kores Plesnicar B, Zalar I, Mertik M. Suicide and suicide attempt descriptors by multimethod approach. Psychiatria danubina. 2018;30(3):317-22.
• Hawton K, Comabella CC, Haw C, Saunders K. Risk factors for suicide in individuals with depression: a systematic review. J of Affective Disorders. 2013;147(1-3):17-28.
• Liu B-P, Qin P, Liu Y-Y, Yuan L, Gu L-X, Jia C-X. Mental disorders and suicide attempt in rural China. Psychiatry Research. 2018;261:190-6.
• Ridout KK, Alavi M, Ridout SJ, Koshy MT, Awsare S, Harris B, et al. Emergency department encounters among youth with suicidal thoughts or behaviors during the CoViD-19 pandemic. JAMA psychiatry. 2021;78(12):1319-28.