Adolescent Intentional Ingestions in a Community Hospital

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the adolescent population, presenting a public health crisis. The goal of this study was to evaluate adolescent intentional ingestions in a community hospital and to identify variables associated with the risk of admission to inpatient medical and psychiatric settings.

This study was a retrospective chart review from a hospital system in the Pacific Northwest over 2 years for patients aged 9 to 18 years. Variables examined include age, sex, type of ingestion, emergency department length of stay (LOS), admission to the inpatient setting, LOS of inpatient admission, admission to psychiatry, presence of a therapist, and insurance type.

During the study period, 233 individual intentional ingestions occurred. The most commonly ingested substances were psychiatric medications (30.9%), prescription medications (28.3%), and ibuprofen (24.0%). One-third of patients (33.9%) required admission to a medical hospital, whereas one-quarter (24.9%) required admission to a psychiatric hospital. The following variables were associated with risk of admission to a medical hospital: female sex, shorter emergency department LOS, and ingestion of psychiatric medications, prescription medication, and/or salicylates. Risk of admission to a psychiatric hospital was associated with an inpatient medical admission, an increased duration of medical admission, and an ingestion of a psychiatric medication.

In this study, we describe important epidemiology on adolescent intentional ingestions in a community setting, providing variables associated with a risk of admission to medical and psychiatric hospitals.