Cited by 149Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesEmergency and Acute Care StudiesPsychiatric care and mental health services

Emergency department contact prior to suicide in mental health patients.

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Da Cruz, D., Pearson, A., Saini, P., Miles, C., While, D., Swinson, N., Williams, A., Shaw, J. +2 more·2011·Emergency Medicine Journal

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe attendance at emergency departments (EDs) in the year prior to suicide for a sample of mental health patients. To examine the characteristics of those who attended (particularly those who attended frequently) prior to suicide. DESIGN: Case review of ED records for 286 individuals who died within 12 months of mental health contact in North West England (2003-2005). METHOD: Cases identified through the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide were checked against regional EDs to establish attendance in the year prior to death. Records were examined to establish the number of attendances, reason for the final, non-fatal attendance, treatment offered and outcome. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-four (43%) individuals had attended the ED at least once in the year prior to their death, and of these, 35 (28%) had attended the ED on more than three occasions. These frequent attenders died by suicide significantly sooner after their final, non-fatal attendance than other attenders. A clinical history of alcohol misuse was also associated with early death following ED attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Over 40% of our clinical sample attended an ED in the year prior to death, and some individuals attended particularly frequently. EDs may therefore represent an important additional setting for suicide prevention in mental health patients. The majority of attendances prior to suicide were for self-harm or to request psychiatric help. Clinicians should be alert to the risk associated with such presentations and to the possible association between frequent attendance and suicide.

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  1. [1]1. Original article copyright. on August 21, 2023 at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Protected by http://emj.bmj.com/ Emerg Med J: first published as 10.1136/emj.2009.081869 on 26 July 2010. Downloaded from REFERENCES

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Authors
Da Cruz, D., Pearson, A., Saini, P., Miles, C., While, D., Swinson, N., Williams, A., Shaw, J., Appleby, L., & Kapur, N.
Affiliations
University of Manchester (GB)
Venue
Emergency Medicine Journal
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2010-07-26
Volume
28
Issue
6
Pages
467-471
ISSN
  • 1351-0622 (ISSN-L)
  • 1472-0205
  • 1472-0213
OpenAlex
W2115017877
Cited by
149
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
FWCI
6.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Emergency Medicine Journal (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Emergency and Acute Care Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
Keywords
suicide, emergency department visits, psychiatric patients, frequent attenders, alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide prevention, mental health help-seeking
MeSH terms
Suicide Prevention, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cross-Sectional Studies, Emergency Service, Hospital, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Admission, Patient Readmission, Retrospective Studies, Suicide, Logistic Models, Proportional Hazards Models, Survival Analysis, Hospital Mortality, Age Distribution, Sex Distribution, Risk Assessment, Statistics, Nonparametric, Needs Assessment, Persons with Psychiatric Disorders, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Young Adult

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