Pattern of Suicide: A Review of Autopsies Conducted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret Kenya

Abstract

Problem statement. Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the world, accounting for more than 400,000 deaths annually. The pattern of suicide and the incidence of suicide vary from country to country. Cultural, religious and social values play some role in suicide. Currently, there is no data regarding the incidence of suicide in Kenya. Setting. Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary. Study population. A seven-year retrospective study of all the autopsies performed at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital was analysed and the cases that were definitely determined as suicides were further studied. Objective. To characterize the pattern of suicide cases through autopsies conducted at MTRH mortuary between the years 2005 to 2012. Methodology. Retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study. Suicide cases were identified from the MTRH autopsy record books. From these record books, the autopsy number was used to retrieve the pathologists autopsy report. Data regarding age, gender and methods of suicide was retrieved and entered into a data collection form. Data analysis: Data collected was analysed using Stata version 10. Results. There were 213 autopsies performed. Majority were male 180(85%). The subjects had a median age of 29(IQR: 23–37) years. Organophosphate poisoning was the most preferred method followed by hanging. Organophosphate poisoning accounted for 195(91.54%) and hanging for 17(7.98%) of the subjects. Conclusion. The preferred methods of suicide were poisoning and hanging. The study may have missed some cases where the relatives could have declined for the postmortem procedure and hence the body released without postmortem examinations.