Risk of Suicide Following Deliberate Self Poisoning
Deliberate self-poisoning is themost commonmethod of at- tempted suicide, accounting for 85% to 95% of suicide-related hospital admissions. Although the intent of lethality varies widely, self poisoning accounts for roughly 1 in 300 visits to North American emergency departments and generates substantial costs to the health care system.10 Surviving patients are at risk for repeated suicide attempts usingmore violentmeans, which are frequently fatal. However, themagnitude and temporal course of this risk have not been well characterized. Limited understanding of the risk factors andmotivation fo rself-harm makes suicide prevention one of the most challenging areas in clinical practice, leading some experts to suggest that suicide prevention is an elusive public health goal. Screening instruments for suicide often fail to predict completed suicide,16 andoptimal follow-up recommendations for at risk patients have not been established. Yet health care professionals, psychiatrists in particular, are often called on to predict and, by extension,prevent suicide,particularly inpatients who have previously harmed themselves. Evidence regarding risk factors for suicide after a self-harm episode is sparse. ...