Assessment and treatment of patients with suicidal thoughts and attempts in emergency psychiatry

• Published in: European psychiatry Vol. 26; no. S2; p. 1646
• Main Authors: Sinani, L., Kola, V., Dyrma, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.03.2011
• ISSN: 0924-9338; 1778-3585
• DOI: 10.1016/S0924-9338(11)73350-8

Introduction Assessment of suicidal risk is the most important and difficult goal in a psychiatric emergency. To prevent the suicide, it is essential to be effective and accurate with the prediction of individual cases and time-intervention. Objective To determine an assessment model which will reduce suicidal behavior. To identify risk and protective factorsGoal: Improve assessment, management and treatment of patients with suicidal thoughts and attempts in the psychiatric ward. Method Prospective case-crossover study, 32 patients (19 men, 13 women), during 24 weeks. Psychiatric evaluation based on structural clinical interviews and questionnaires related to risk factors were conducted to patients with suicidal thoughts and attempts. Results 74% of cases with high Suicide risk were hospitalized; only 40% were medium risk. Frequent factors often identified were lack of hope, the presence of major mood disorders / schizophrenia, previous suicidal attempts, psychological distress and personality disorders. The risk for patients with strong or average desire for suicide attempt, if not subject to proper management is almost five times greater than other patients. Conclusions Compared to the general population, the risk of death from a person already having attempted suicide is seriously higher. Evaluation and selection of proper treatment and circumstances is the key for a significant reduction of suicidal thoughts within a short time.