Citation

Ducrocq F, Hadjeb L, Boss V, Mauriaucourt P, Wiel E, Danel T, Vaiva G. Inf. Psychiatr. 2009; 85(10): 899-905.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, John Libbey Eurotext)

DOI

10.1684/ipe.2009.0562

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Enquiry conducted on a given day regarding the management of suicides in the Emergency Department of Nord- Pas-de-Calais Geographical Area - France. Context. France is one of the industrialized countries most affected by the suicide phenomenon, which constitutes the first cause of mortality in the 35 to 44 year age group and is the second cause in the 15-24 year age group. Based on our initial objective which was to research the indicators of mental health of our regional population, we postulated that a suicide attempt could represent a possible factor of mental anxiety. This study also attempted to assess the activity, often poorly estimated, dealing with suicide patients in the emergency departments. This included a previous medical history of the suicide patient using a methodology which can be repeated on a regular basis.

METHODology. A prospective multicentre study which was carried out on Tuesday 10th February, 2009 during 24 hours in all the emergency and psychiatric departments of Nord-Pas-de-Calais Geographical Area - France. All patients presented at the emergency department with an established diagnosis of attempted suicide.

RESULTS. 31 departments participated in the study (Emergency Departments and Para-Medics-Samu). This study, in fact, underlines that more than 87 % of attempted suicides are dealt with by the Para-Medics.

CONCLUSION. This study permits to verify the number of suicide attempts recorded during a one day period in the emergency services and is slightly higher than that reported in the literature. However, the low patient sample (56 cases) does not permit a complex statistical analysis.

Language: fr

Keywords

Epidemiology; Suicide attempt; Emergency services; Indicator