Predicting inpatient suicides and suicide attempts by using clinical routine data?

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Inpatient suicide and suicide attempts pose significant risks within psychiatric facilities.
• Understanding specific risk factors is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of inpatient suicides and suicide attempts.
• To identify risk factors associated with inpatient suicides and suicide attempts in a psychiatric hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 20,543 patients and 40,451 inpatient care episodes from 1995-2004.
• Utilized the German psychiatric basic documentation system.
• Employed univariate analyses, multivariate logistic regression, and classification and regression tree analyses.

Main Results:

• Forty-one inpatient suicides were recorded.
• Risk factors for suicide included resistance to psychopharmacological treatment, previous suicide attempt, severe side effects, and supportive psychotherapy before admission.
• Two hundred fourteen inpatient suicide attempts were documented, associated with assault, personality disorder, previous suicide attempt, psychopharmacological treatment resistance, suicidal thoughts at admission, schizophrenia, depression, female sex, and length of stay.

Conclusions:

• Previous suicide attempts necessitate cautious investigation in psychiatric patients.
• Patients experiencing difficulties with psychopharmacotherapy during hospitalization require heightened attention.
• The findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions for high-risk individuals.