Analysis of suicidal patients admitted to the emergency rooms and their intensive care requirements: A double-center study in Turkey

Objective: In the present study, the clinical and socio-demographic data of the patients who admitted to the emergency department due to suicide attempt, the duration at the emergency department, and hospitalizations are examined. Requirement of intensive care and duration of hospitalization are investigated in the patients with suicide attempt. Materials and Methods: Patients who were admitted to the emergency department of the hospitals after suicide attempts between 2015 and 2017 and per 2018 were included in the retrospective study. Reason for suicide, suicide modality, duration between the suicide attempt and arrival to the emergency department, suicide time, first treatment at the emergency department, hospitalization, mortality, and the levels at the intensive care unit (ICU) were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Data obtained from the archives of the hospitals. SPSS 25.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York, United States) program was used to analyze the variables. Results: In the present study, 428 patients were included. Ratio of the female to male patients was 319/109. The mean age of the patients was 29.18±10.48. 205 patients were single. 136 patients were unemployed. Ninety-four (22.87%) patients were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. Four hundred twenty-two (98.59%) of the patients were attempted suicide with drugs/toxics. One hundred ninety-seven patients (49.75%) reported domestic violence and family issues reasons for suicide. Mean duration between the time of suicide and the time to arrive to the emergency department was 100.53±91.82 minutes. One hundred thirty (30.5%) patients were transferred to ICU, and 45 (10.5%) patients were followed in clinical departments. One hundred twenty (92.3%) patients hospitalized in the first-level ICU, 4 (3%) in the second-level ICU, and 6 (4.6%) in the third-level ICU. The mean ICU stay was 2.37±1.48 days. Conclusion: The suicide attempts were prominent in acute poisoning cases. Majority of the patients stated domestic violence and family issues as a reason of suicide. They were discharged mostly from the emergency department and 10.5% of the patients were kept under surveillance in the departments. When the suicide attempts were evaluated in terms of their time, they were observed during day time at a higher rate.