Self-destructive acts occurring during medical general hospitalization

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Public health
• Patient safety

Background:

• Previous studies on hospital suicide lack disease-specific and departmental data.
• Self-destructive acts among Chinese general hospital inpatients remain under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively investigate the rates and characteristics of self-destructive incidents in Chinese general hospital inpatients.
• To identify high-risk patient groups and temporal patterns associated with self-harm.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of self-destructive incidents over a 10-year period in a general hospital setting.
• Calculation of self-destructive and fatality rates per 100,000 admissions.
• Identification of associated diseases, hospital departments, incident types, and timing.

Main Results:

• A total of 75 self-destructive incidents (15 fatal) were recorded, with rates of 8.7/100,000 (self-destructive) and 1.8/100,000 (fatal).
• Highest self-destructive rates were in rehabilitation and neurology wards; highest fatality rates in neurology.
• Chronic/terminal illnesses (malignant neoplasm, neurological disease, COPD) were prevalent. COPD patients exhibited the highest self-harm and fatality rates.
• Knife-cutting was the most common method. Over half of incidents occurred within 2 weeks of admission, often during night shifts, as did severe/fatal events.

Conclusions:

• Patients with chronic or terminal illnesses, especially COPD, are at elevated risk for self-harm in general hospitals.
• Increased patient supervision is essential during the first two weeks post-admission, particularly during night shifts.
• Targeted interventions and enhanced monitoring protocols are needed to mitigate self-destructive behaviors in vulnerable inpatient populations.