Are Psychiatric History and Substance Use Predictors of Mortality in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wounds to the Face?

Self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the face are one of the most challenging clinical scenarios encountered by oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Knowledge is lacking regarding which factors might influence survival after these devastating injuries, especially pertaining to psychiatric history and substance use. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the risk factors that might influence the survival of subjects with self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the face.

A retrospective cohort study was designed to analyze the data from subjects presenting to the University of Louisville Trauma Center with self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the face from February 2010 to September 2019. The predictor variables included demographic (eg, age, gender, race), medical and psychiatric history, and toxicology test results. The primary outcome variable was death before hospital discharge. Descriptive, bivariate, and logistic regression models were computed.

The sample included 120 subjects, with an age range of 16 to 85 years old (average age, 43.5 years); 90.8% were male, and 56.7% had survived their suicide attempt. Of the 120 patients, 35% had a history of depression, 23.3% tested positive for benzodiazepines, and 33% had a social history positive for smoking, alcohol use, and/or drug use. Depression was the single largest predictor of mortality. Patients with depression were significantly more likely to survive their injuries than were patients without depression (odds ratio, 0.230; P = .003). The presence of benzodiazepines in toxicology tests was also a significant predictor of mortality (odds ratio, 0.297; P = .018); patients testing positive were more likely to survive than were patients with negative test results or positive test results for other drugs.

Subjects who attempt suicide via self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the face were more likely to survive their injury if they had a reported history of depression or test results positive for a benzodiazepine.