Characteristics of suicide cases treated in the emergency department of general hospitals in Beijing

Abstract

Objective To analyze the characteristics and treatments of suicidal cases in emergency rooms of Beijing general hospitals in 2009, providing empirical evidence for the rescue of the suicide victims and suicide intervention. Methods One hundred and ten emergency departments were sampled from 272 listed general hospitals provided by Beijing Health Bureau. A self-made registry questionnaire for suicide cases was used to collect necessary information, including general demographic data, methods of suicide, duration of stay in hospital and treatment results. The difference on suicide between the male and the female was determined by chi-squared test. Results The data of 2 812 suicide cases rescued in emergency rooms were collected, with the ratio of male to female being 1∶2.57 (χ2=185.89，df=1，P=0.000). The average age of the suicidal men was significantly higher than that of the women ((38+18) vs. (35±17), t=-4.05，P=0.000). The suicide rate for the age group of 15 to 34 years was the highest (59.4%,1 670/2 812, χ2=19.832, df=3, P=0.000) among all groups. The percentage of female suicide cases from 15 to 34 years (61.4%,1 244/2 025）was higher than that of male suicide cases in the same age range（54.1%,426/2 025）, the percentage of male suicide cases of other age groups was higher than that of female suicide cases in the same age range（χ2=19.832，df=3，P=0.000）.Of all the cases, the most common suicide method was poisoning, accounting for 86.5%（2 431/2 812）, with the most used poisonous substances being drugs (73.7%,2 073/2 812) and pesticides(11.1%,312/2 812). Among the non-poisoning suicide cases, cutting（11.7%,330/2 812） was the most common method. The rate of poisoning was higher among women than the men, and the rate of non-poisoning was higher among the men than the women（χ2=112.02，df=5，P=0.000）. There was no significant seasonal differences on the suicide between male and female (χ2=2.16, df= 3, P=0.539). Twenty cases（0.7%） were fatal. The ratio of suicide mortality between male and female was 1.67∶1 (χ2=1.44, df=1, P=0.230). Conclusion A majority of the suicide cases rescued in emergency departments of Beijing general hospitals involves poisoning, so it is important to enhance the rescue capability for various poisons to increase the cure rate. Meanwhile, it is also essential for the government to reinforce the control to drugs. Key words: General hospital; Emergency room; Suicide behavior