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One hundred in-patient suicides
F Proulx1, A D Lesage, F Grunberg
1Hôpital Charles LeMoyne, Department of Psychiatry, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Background:
The study aimed to define the characteristics and assess the clinical predictability and possible prevention of psychiatric in-patient suicides.
Method:
The coroner's files on all suicides in the Greater Montreal Region from 1 April 1986 to 31 March 1991 were examined. The medical records of each case of suspected in-patient suicide were then reviewed and rated for predictability and preventive measures taken.
Results:
A total of 3079 suicides were recorded over this five-year period (mean annual rate of 16.4 per 100,000 inhabitants). Of these, 104 (3.4%) involved hospital in-patients. Nearly half (48%) of these in-patient suicides occurred outside the hospital setting. The methods most frequently employed were hanging (36%) and jumping from high places (24%). Patients suffering from an affective disorder (45%) or schizophrenia (35%) comprised the majority of the sample. Suicides were significantly more predictable in general hospital psychiatric wards. Suicide prevention measures did not differ significantly across settings.
Conclusions:
The majority of in-patient suicides were not highly predictable. For highly predictable suicides, the results underline the importance of actively treating and protecting these patients.