Deliberate Self-poisoning Research Articles

Restrictions on Pesticides and Deliberate Self-Poisoning in Sri Lanka

Deliberate self-poisoning using pesticides as a means of suicide is an important public health problem in low- and middle-income countries. Three highly toxic pesticides-dimethoate, fenthion, and paraquat-were removed from the market in Sri Lanka between 2008 and 2011. In 2015, less toxic pesticides (chlorpyrifos, glyphosate, carbofuran, and carbaryl) were restricted. Subsequent outcomes have not been well described. To explore the association of pesticide bans with pesticide self-poisonings and in-hospital deaths. In this cross-sectional study with an interrupted time series design, data were prospectively collected on all patients with deliberate self-poisonings presenting to 10 Sri Lankan hospitals between March 31, 2002, and December 31, 2019, and analyzed by aggregated types of poisoning. The correlates of pesticide bans were estimated within the pesticide group and on self-poisonings within other substance groups. The data analysis was performed between April 1, 2002, and December 31, 2019. Implementation of 2 sets of pesticide bans. The main outcomes were changes in hospital presentations and in-hospital deaths related to pesticide self-poisoning as measured using segmented Poisson regression. A total of 79 780 patients (median [IQR] age, 24 [18-34] years; 50.1% male) with self-poisoning from all causes were admitted to the study hospitals, with 29 389 poisonings (36.8%) due to pesticides. A total of 2859 patients died, 2084 (72.9%) of whom had ingested a pesticide. The first restrictions that targeted acutely toxic, highly hazardous pesticides were associated with an abrupt and sustained decline of the proportion of poisonings with pesticides (rate ratio [RR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.92) over the study period and increases in poisonings with medications (RR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02-1.21) and household and industrial chemicals (RR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05-1.36). The overall case fatality of pesticides significantly decreased (RR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.26-0.42) following the implementation of the 2008 to 2011 restrictions of highly hazardous pesticides. Following the 2015 restrictions of low-toxicity pesticides, hospitalizations were unchanged, and the number of deaths increased (RR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.39-2.83). These findings support the restriction of acutely toxic pesticides in resource-poor countries to help reduce hospitalization for and deaths from deliberate self-poisonings and caution against arbitrary bans of less toxic pesticides while more toxic pesticides remain available.

The clinical profile, management, and outcomes of deliberate self-poisoning in a tertiary care hospital, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract Introduction: Deliberate self-poisoning is a major public health problem globally and constitutes a significant proportion of emergency department presentations. The purpose of the study was to determine the clinical profile, management, and outcomes of patients admitted with deliberate self-poisoning to a tertiary public academic center in South Africa. Methods: A review of the clinical records of medical admissions for deliberate self-poisoning over one year was conducted. Results: A total of 140 patient records were analysed. The mean age of the group was 25.7 ± 9.4 years of whom 75.6% were females. The majority (96.4%) of patients were unemployed. Pharmaceutical agents were the most common (75%) form of poisoning, taken orally by most (99%). Psycho-social stressors were responsible for deliberate self-poisoning in 49% of the patients. None of the patients had evidence of significant organ dysfunction at admission. Two patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. All patients survived. The median length of stay in the hospital was 5 days (IQR 4–7 days). Treatment consisted of supportive care and, where appropriate, gastric decontamination, administration of antidotes/reversal agents, and referral to psychosocial services. Conclusion: In this study, a high proportion of the patients were female, unemployed, and single. Psycho-social stressors were the predominant reasons for deliberate self-poisoning and pharmaceutical agents were the main form of poisoning in the majority of cases. Improving the mental health and coping skills of young females could potentially reduce episodes of deliberate self-poisoning among this vulnerable group.

Clinical Profile of a Person with Experience of Deliberate Self-Poisoning

Clinical Profile of a Person with Experience of Deliberate Self-Poisoning

Clinical and pathological characteristics of acute kidney injury caused by diquat poisoning

Introduction: Diquat poisoning leads to kidney injury, hepatotoxicity, rhabdomyolysis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and respiratory failure. Diquat has high mortality and no specific antidote. The pathology of acute kidney injury caused by diquat poisoning has been mainly investigated in animal studies and autopsies, and typically shows renal tubular necrosis. To our knowledge, antemortem renal biopsy has not been reported in humans. Case reports: Two males and one female presented following deliberate diquat self-poisoning. Their main clinical manifestations were abdominal pain, nausea, and emesis. All developed acute kidney injury. Kidney biopsy was performed in two cases which showed acute tubular necrosis with renal interstitial edema and multifocal inflammatory cell infiltration. Treatments given included gastric lavage, catharsis, early hemoperfusion combined with continuous kidney replacement therapy or hemodialysis, administration of glucocorticoids, and antioxidant therapy. All patients survived. Discussion: Despite potentially lethal ingestions three patients survived oral diquat poisoning with intensive supportive care. No clear relationship can be made between any of the therapies given and patient outcome. Conclusions: Kidney biopsy in these patients confirmed proximal renal tubular injury was the major pathological finding although interstitial injury was also present. The role of therapies that address renal pathology requires further study.

Toxicity and Adverse Effects in Clozapine-Related Presentations to a Medical Toxicology Service in Western Sydney.

Clozapine is an anti-psychotic agent, reserved for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, with demonstrated efficacy in an otherwise therapeutically challenging patient population. We aimed to review the full spectrum casemix of clozapine presentations to our tertiary toxicology service. In this retrospective study, wereviewed consecutive clozapine related toxicitypresentations to a tertiary medical toxicology inpatient and consultation service-including deliberate self-poisoning (DSP), adverse drug reaction (ADR), recreational use, and therapeutic misadventure over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2021. Data were extracted for demographics, ingested dose, exposure characteristics, and patient outcome. We identified 83 patients with clozapine-related presentations over the 10-year period. Twenty-two patients were excluded. Of the remaining 61 patients, 28 patients presented with DSP, 20 patients with accidental overdose, and 13 patients with an ADR; no patients presented with recreational use. It was noted that ADRs were largely idiosyncratic reactions and not always related to dose adjustments. In the context of therapeutic misadventure and DSP, we noted that a lower mean dose achieved a higher poison severity score (PSS) in clozapine-naive patients when compared to those patients on regular clozapine. The presentation of clozapine-related toxicity differs depending on the modality of ingestion, whether DSP, accidental, or as a result of ADR. Patients naive to clozapine therapy tend to experience higher PSS with lower doses ingested either in a deliberate self-poisoning or accidental ingestion context. This is likely due to tolerance to thesedative propertiesof clozapine. No patients manifested clinical toxicity greater than 8hours after ingestion, with an observation period of 6hours accurately identifying toxicity in most patients.

Unexpected epileptogenic effect of lethal doses of pentobarbital: a case report

Background: Barbiturate poisoning is rare but potentially fatal. Case Report: We reported a case of barbiturate poisoning in a 28-year-old woman who recovered from lethal pentobarbital deliberate self-poisoning. The initial blood pentobarbital concentration was 61 mg/L, corresponding to a potentially lethal dose. Despite the ingestion of a high dose of pentobarbital, the electroencephalogram revealed an unattended pattern compatible with possible nonconvulsive status epilepticus. Following resuscitation maneuvers, appropriate care, and antiseizure medication, the patient awakened after 7 days. The evolution was excellent without neurological deficits at 2 months.Conclusion: Despite the expected and known effects of high-dose pentobarbital in reducing and suppressing cortical activity in the brain, the present case demonstrates that lethal dose of pentobarbital may have an epileptogenic effect. Our hypothesis was that the mechanism of the origin of such a picture is a relatively abrupt decrease in toxic doses of pentobarbital, resulting in a withdrawal phenomenon.

Psychosocial Factors Behind Deliberate Self-Poisoning in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) is an important cause of hospital admissions and subsequent mortality. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study in a tertiary-level teaching hospital situated in the northeastern part of Bangladesh to analyze the psychosocial factors responsible forDSP. This cross-sectional observational study was carried out amongpatients with DSP admitted to the medicine ward from January to December 2017, irrespective of gender, except for cases involving poisoning due to spoiled food, food contaminated by infectious organisms, poisoning by venomous animals, and street poisoning (commuter or travel-related poisoning).Consultant psychiatrist in accordance with the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder - IV (DSM-IV) confirmed psychiatric disorders. Data were analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for social sciences) version 16.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Total 100 patients were enrolled. Among them, 43%were male and 57%were female. The majority (85%) of the patients were young, aged below 30 years. The mean age of male patients was 26.2 years and that of females was 21.69 years. Most of the DSP patients were from the lower economic class (59%). The population sample was remarkable for students (Prevalence 37%). The highest percentage of patients (33%) had their educational status at the secondary level. The common reasons for DSP were a family problem in 31% patients, quarrel with boy/girlfriend in 20%, quarrel with a spouse in 13%, quarrel with parents or other family member in 7%, failure in examination in 6%, poverty in 3%, and unemployment in 3%. Prescription medicationwas the most common poison material (38%), followed by insecticides (36%), household cleaners (17%), and rodenticides (8%). Seven (7%) patients reported previous deliberate self-harm events and co-morbid psychiatric disorder was present in 30% patients among them major depressive disorder was found in 60%, and schizophrenia in 23.3% cases. DSP remains a problem mainly for the young with gender ratio-favoring females. The majority of DSPs were educated up to secondary level, unmarried, residents of rural areas, student, and belonged to the lower class. Familial disharmony and quarrel with spouse or friends were the common reason behind DSP. Prescription medication and insecticides were commonly used for DSP. Psychiatric disorders, primarily depressive disorder, and schizophreniawere common in cases of DSP.

Study of Deliberate Self-Poisoning Among Adult Females in A Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Poisoning is a common medico-social problem in our country causing around 300,000 episodes and around 2000 deaths per year. Attempted suicide among adult females are a major public health problem. The number of self-poisoning in females are increasing in our country day by day. The incidence, nature, etiology, age group affected and the outcome of self-poisoning in females of our country is different from that of the western world. Objective: The objective of the study was to analysis the socio-demographic profile pattern of deliberate self-poisoning among adult females admitted in the Medicine Department, Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Material and Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted in the Department of Medicine, Dhaka Medical College Hospital from January 2016 to June 2016. 100 admitted female participants were enrolled in this study as study population. A purposive sampling method was applied for sampling from study population. Results: The age of the participants were from 18 to 55 years with the mean age of 28.19 (± 9.84) years. Most number of the participants were in 21-29 year’s age group (42%) followed by ≤20 year’s (29%). House wife (30%) was the most common occupation followed by student (25%). Most of the participants were from lower economic class (51%), followed by middle class (41%). 48% participants were in primary level, 24% in secondary level and 22% were illiterate. Most of the participants were married (51%), followed by unmarried (35%), divorced (9%) and widow (5%). 62% participants from rural and 38% from urban area. 75% were Muslim and 25% were Hindu. 55% were from the joint family and 45% were from the nuclear family. Most of the self-poisoning occurred between 6 am to 12 pm (42%), followed by 6 pm to 12 am (30%), 12 pm to 6 pm (20%) and 12 am to 6 am (8%). Insecticide was the most common poison materials (43%), followed by drug ingestion (30%), household detergent (13%), rodenticide (6%) and others (8%). Maximum participants reported the reason for self-poisoning was family disharmony (35%) followed by romantic disappointment (27%). 17% participants reported previous suicidal attempt and 11% had previous psychiatric disorder. Nearly half of the participants (43%) sought medical care within 2 hours and one fourth participants (31%) within 4 hours. About two-thirds of the participants (66%) received primary medical care from different govt. hospitals. Most of the female participants with self-poisoning were recovered completely (71%), while 20% participants recovered with complications and 9% participants died. In the study, fatality rate was found 33.3% in rodenticide and 16.3% in insecticide poisoning. Conclusions: As evident from the study, by intervene these problems by various measures might be helpful to prevent many of deliberate self-harm. Early diagnosis and prompt institution of appropriate treatment can make a favorable outcome in deliberate self-poisoning of female participants.

Deliberate Self-Poisoning: Real-Time Characterization of Suicidal Habits and Toxidromes in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System.

Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) using drugs is the preferred method of suicide at a global level. Its investigation is hampered by limited sample sizes and data reliability. We investigate the role of the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), a consolidated pharmacovigilance database, in outlining DSP habits and toxidromes. We retrieved cases of 'intentional overdose' and 'poisoning deliberate' from the FAERS (January 2004-December 2021). Using descriptive and disproportionality analyses, we estimated temporal trends, potential risk factors, toxidromes, case-fatality rates and lethal doses (LDs) for the most frequently reported drugs. We retrieved 42,103 DSP cases (17% fatal). Most cases were submitted in winter. Reports of DSP involved younger people, psychiatric conditions, and alcohol use, compared with non-DSP, and fatality was higher in men and older patients. Suspected drugs were mainly antidepressants, analgesics, and antipsychotics. Multiple drug intake was recorded in more than 50% of the reports, especially analgesics, psychotropics, and cardiovascular agents. The most frequently reported drugs were paracetamol, promethazine, amlodipine, quetiapine, and metformin. We estimated LD25 for paracetamol (150g). Worldwide coverage of the FAERS complements existing knowledge about DSP and may drive tailored prevention measures to timely address the DSP phenomenon and prevent intentional suicides.

A Case of Poisoning Due to Glutaraldehyde and Alprazolam Ingestion with Multiple Tentative Cuts Over Wrist and Neck

Alprazolam is most commonly used benzodiazepine in overdose for deliberate self-poisoning. Glutaraldehyde is used for cold sterilization of medical, surgical and dental equipment. Poisoning due to accidental exposure as well as self-poisoning is common with glutaraldehyde. Self-inflicted or hesitational cuts are associated with suicide or attempted suicide or suicidal gestures and their examination is an important task for forensic expert.

Clinical features related to alcohol co-ingestion of deliberate self-poisoning patients visiting the emergency department

Purpose: Alcohol is one of the most commonly co-ingested agents in deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) cases presenting at the emergency department (ED). The increased impulsivity, aggressiveness, and disinhibition caused by alcohol ingestion may have different clinical features and outcomes in cases of DSP. This study investigates whether alcohol co-ingestion affects the clinical features and outcomes of DSP patients in the ED. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study. We investigated DSP cases who visited our ED from January 2010 to December 2016. Patients were classified into two groups: with (ALC+) or without (ALC–) alcohol co-ingestion. The clinical features of DSP were compared by considering the co-ingestion of alcohol, and the factors related to discharge against medical advice (AMA) of DSP were analyzed. Results: A total of 689 patients were included in the study, with 272 (39.5%) in the ALC+ group. Majority of the ALC+ group patients were middle-aged males (45-54 years old) and arrived at the ED at night. The rate of discharge AMA from ED was significantly higher in the ALC+ group (130; 47.8%) compared to the ALC– group (p=0.001). No significant differences were obtained in the poisoning severity scores between the two groups (p=0.223). Multivariate analysis revealed that alcohol co-ingestion (odds ratio [OR]=1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.98), alert mental status (OR=1.65; 95% CI, 1.17-2.32), past psychiatric history (OR=0.04; 95% CI, 0.01-0.28), age >65 years (OR=0.42; 95% CI, 0.23-0.78), and time from event to ED arrival >6 hrs (OR=0.57; 95% CI, 0.37-0.88) were independent predictive factors of discharge AMA (p=0.043, p=0.004, p=0.001, p=0.006, and p=0.010, respectively). Conclusion: Our results determined a high association between alcohol co-ingestion and the outcome of discharge AMA in DSP patients. Emergency physicians should, therefore, be aware that DSP patients who have co-ingested alcohol may be uncooperative and at high risk of discharge AMA.

Prevalence of Depression and Predictors of Discharge to a Psychiatric Hospital in Young People with Hospital-Treated Deliberate Self-Poisoning at an Australian Sentinel Unit.

Hospital treated deliberate self-poisoning is common in young people. Internationally, estimates of rates of depression in this population are very wide (14.6% to 88%). The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of depression and the independent predictors of referral for psychiatric hospitalisation in young people (aged 16 to 25 years) following an index episode of hospital treated deliberate self-poisoning. A retrospective cohort study design (n = 1410), with data drawn from a population-based clinical case register. Unadjusted and adjusted estimates of predictors of referral for psychiatric admission (after-care) used logistic regression models. Prevalence of any depression diagnosis was 35.5% (n = 500); and 25.4% (n = 358) were referred for a psychiatric admission. The adjusted estimates for predictors of psychiatric inpatient referral were: high suicidal level (OR 118.21: CI 95% 63.23-220.99), low/moderate suicidal level (14.27: 9.38-21.72), any depression (2.88: 1.97-4.22), any psychosis (4.06; 1.15-14.36), older age (1.12: 1.04-1.21), and number of support people (0.88: 0.78-0.98). Depression was diagnosed in more than a third and was an independent predictor of psychiatric inpatient referral, so service providers need to account for this level of need in the provision of assessment and after-care services. Evidence-based guidelines for psychiatric inpatient after-care for deliberate self-poisoning and/or depression in young people are limited. Our explanatory model included suicidal level, depression, psychosis, older age, and available support persons, suggesting that the treating clinicians were making these discharge decisions for admission in keeping with those limited guidelines, although the balance of benefits and harms of psychiatric hospitalisation are not established. Future research examining patient experiences, effectiveness of psychiatric hospitalisation, and alternatives to hospitalisation is warranted.

Characteristics and predictive factors of severe or fatal suicide outcome in patients hospitalized due to deliberate self-poisoning.

Prediction of clinical course of intoxication is essential for timely initiation of appropriate medical treatment in patients hospitalized due to suicidal self-poisoning. In this retrospective single-centre study in patients hospitalized due to suicidal poisoning in a specialized clinical toxicology unit, we aimed to identify predictive factors associated with severe or fatal course of self-poisoning. All patients underwent at least one psychiatric exploration during their inpatient stay. Severity of poisoning was assessed on admission and after 24 hours according to the Poison Severity Score index (PSS). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to test the association of PSS with sociodemographic, anamnestic and (pre-)clinical parameters. Multivariable binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictive factors for severe and/or fatal self-poisoning. 1090 patients were included in the study. Median age was 39 years (range 13-91), 66.7% of patients were female. PSS was classified in the majority as "minor" (n = 558, 51.2%) or "moderate" (n = 264, 24.2%). 61 patients (5.6%) had PSS "severe"; 14 patients (1.3%) died. A higher severity of poisoning positively correlated with duration of inpatient therapy (p<0.001, Spearman's rho = 0.454) and duration of ventilation (p<0.001, rho = 0.474), and it inversely correlated with initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (p<0.001, rho = -0.437). Multivariable analysis identified no alcohol co-ingestion (OR 3.23; 95%CI 1.3, 8.07; p = 0.012) and self-poisoning with non-medicinal substances (OR 5.4; 95%CI 1.78, 16.34; p = 0.003) as factors predictive for "severe" or "fatal" suicide outcome. In contrast, female gender (OR 0.4; 95%CI 0.2, 0.81; p = 0.011), not using an antidepressant as the method for self-poisoning (OR 0.27; 95%CI 0.12, 0.59; p = 0.001) and a higher initial GCS score (OR 0.79; 95%CI 0.73, 0.85; p<0.001) reduced the risk of a severe or fatal course of self-poisoning. The conclusion for clinical practice is that male patients hospitalized due to self-poisoning, with a low initial GCS score, who did not co-ingest alcohol, attempted suicide with non-pharmaceutical substances or antidepressants are at a higher risk of severe/fatal outcome of suicide. Determination of these risk factors at admission could be potentially used to guide treatment intensification in patients hospitalized due to deliberate self-poisoning.

Indigeneity and Likelihood of Discharge to Psychiatric Hospital in an Australian Deliberate Self-Poisoning Hospital-Treated Cohort.

Hospital-treated self-harm rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) people are at least double those for other Australians. Despite this, limited research has explored the relationship between Indigeneity and the clinical management of hospital-treated deliberate self-harm. A retrospective clinical cohort study (2003–2012) at a regional referral centre (NSW) for deliberate self-poisoning was used to explore the magnitude and direction of the relationship between Indigeneity and discharge destination (psychiatric hospital vs. other) using a series of logistic regressions. There were 149 (4%) Indigenous and 3697 (96%) non-Indigenous deliberate self-poisoning admissions during the study period. One-third (31%) were referred to the psychiatric hospital at discharge; Indigenous 21% (n = 32) vs. non-Indigenous 32% (n = 1175). Those who identified as Indigenous were less likely to be discharged to the psychiatric hospital, OR 0.59 (0.40–0.87) at the univariate level, with little change after sequential adjustment; and AOR 0.34 (0.21–0.73) in the fully adjusted model. The Indigenous cohort had a lower likelihood of psychiatric hospital discharge even after adjustment for variables associated with discharge to the psychiatric hospital highlighting the need for further investigation of the reasons accounting for this differential pattern of clinical management and the effectiveness of differential after-care allocation.

Securing a diagnosis in patients presenting with suspected paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning: Aretrospective cohort study.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is the most commonly ingested drug in self-poisoning. The correlation between an ingested self-reported dose of paracetamol and plasma paracetamol concentration is moderate. The usefulness of this correlation to rule out paracetamol ingestion has to be investigated. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of medical history in diagnosis of paracetamol ingestion in patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) for deliberate self-poisoning. This retrospective cohort study was carried out in two EDs at an urban university hospital in Toulouse, France, from January 1 to June 30, 2018. All patients older than 15 years of age attending the ED for suspected deliberate self-poisonings who underwent blood testing were included. Medical history was considered positive for paracetamol intoxication if patients directly reported the use of paracetamol for deliberate self-poisoning during their ED admission or if paramedics reported the presence of paracetamol packages at the patient's home. We defined paracetamol ingestion as any concentration of paracetamol > 5 mg/L measured on presentation. We included 709 patients. 151 (21%) patients had a positive plasma paracetamol concentration. 165 (23%) patients revealed a positive medical history in terms of paracetamol ingestion. 29 (4%) patients had a false-negative medical history, and 45 (6%) patients had a false-positive history. The sensitivity of the medical history (95% confidence interval) was 79% (72-87), and its specificity was 92% (89-94). Diagnosis of self-poisoning involving paracetamol cannot be made using patient's medical history alone. Screening for paracetamol intoxication is proposed.

Deliberate self-poisoning in Australian adolescents is increased on school days

Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) in adolescents is increasing dramatically. Life at school is one of the most important life influences for this age group. This study aimed to investigate whether the frequency of DSP is higher during school term compared to holidays and whether this difference has become greater over time. This is an ecological study using Poisons Information Centre (PIC) data for all DSPs in 10–19 year olds from New South Wales, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory that occurred between 2005 and 2018. For each call, the date of the poisoning was assigned as ‘term’ or ‘holiday’. To control for population growth, calls were expressed as per 100,000 of the population per day. Multivariable Poisson regression was performed to investigate the combined impact of various predictors (state, sex, year, holiday/term, day of week, age) on call number. 26,432 calls were included in the analysis (73.6% female, 24.1% male and 2.3% unknown). Poisson regression showed significant effects for all predictors, with an increased likelihood of DSP during the school term compared with holidays and on Monday–Thursday compared with Saturday but only during the school term. DSP doubled between 2012 and 2017 and the disparity between DSP that occurs during term vs. holiday increased over that time frame. We conclude that some of the increase in DSP is likely due to school-specific stressors, hence the school environment is the ideal setting for self-harm prevention initiatives.

The Applicability of Linehan Risk Assessment Scale: a Cross-Sectional Study from Alexandria Poison Centre, Egypt, During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background/ObjectiveSuicide is a critical health problem that is significantly rising during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, yet it is still under-reported in Egypt. To date, a deficiency of a reliable scale to probe the risk factors underlying suicide liability among patients with deliberate self-poisoning. The study’s objective was to offer a snapshot of the pattern of self- poisoning in Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsUsing the Linehan Risk Assessment and Management Protocol LRAMP, a psychological assessment was applied to evaluate vulnerable patients needing urgent psychiatric support and emphasize the influence of previous suicidal behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on all patients admitted to Alexandria Poison Centre with deliberate self-poisoning biosocial and poisoning data that were recorded in a specially designed sheet. All patients were interviewed for underlying risk factors and protective factors for suicidal behavior.ResultsSignificant relation was recorded between previous suicidal attempts and psychiatric diseases. CNS depressant drugs and rodenticides recorded the highest frequency. The calculated score (suicide and protective factors) was higher in patients with previous suicidal attempts.ConclusionThe study was the first to test the applicability of Linehan scale in Alexandria Poison Centre. The results are promising; however, multicenter replication of the concluded findings will be valuable.

Exploration of associations between deliberate self-poisoning and psychiatric disorders in rural Sri Lanka: A case-control study.

Psychiatric disorders are important predictors of deliberate self-harm. The present study was carried out to determine the associations between DSM-IV TR Axis- I & II disorders and deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) in a rural agricultural district in Sri Lanka. Patients residing in the district who presented with DSP were randomly selected for the study. Both the cases and age, sex, and, residential area, matched controls were assessed for DSM-IV TR Axis- I & II disorders based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I and II Disorders (SCID I & II) conducted by a specialist psychiatrist. Cases consisted of 208 (47.4%) males and 231 (52.6%) females. More than one third (37%) of males and more than half (53.7%) of females were aged below 20 years. DSM-IV TR axis-I and/or II psychiatric diagnoses were diagnosed in 89 (20.3%) of cases and 14 (3.2%) controls. Cases with a DSM-IV TR axis-I diagnosis were older than the cases without psychiatric diagnosis (32 and 19 years), p<0.0001. Having a depressive episode was associated with a 19 times higher risk for DSP. Being a male aged > = 30 years and having an alcohol use disorder carried a 21 times excess risk for DSP. A fivefold excess risk for DSP was found among 10–19 year old females with borderline personality traits. Depressive disorder and alcohol-related disorders were significantly associated with the older participants who presented with DSP. The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders associated with DSP in rural Sri Lanka was significantly lower compared to the rates reported in the West and other countries in the region. Therefore, health and research priorities to reduce self-harm in Sri Lanka should focus both on psychiatric and non-psychiatric factors associated with DSP.

A Case Report on Deliberate Self-poisoning with Imidacloprid in a Young Female - Overview of a Newer Insecticide Poisoning

Imidacloprid is a newer insecticide of the group Neonicotinoids. It is safer to humans and hence considered a better alternative to organophosphorus compounds, especially in areas like Nepal with higher incidence of deliberate self-poisoning. There has been an increase in the number of reported cases of imidacloprid poisoning from South-East Asian countries, but none from Nepal. We report a case admitted in Intensive Care Unit with neurological manifestations, respiratory failure and development of Acute Kidney Injury following acute imidacloprid poisoning.

A Case Report on Deliberate Self-poisoning with Imidacloprid in a Young Female - Overview of a Newer Insecticide Poisoning

Imidacloprid is a newer insecticide of the group Neonicotinoids. It is safer to humans and hence considered a better alternative to organophosphorus compounds, especially in areas like Nepal with higher incidence of deliberate self-poisoning. There has been an increase in the number of reported cases of imidacloprid poisoning from South-East Asian countries, but none from Nepal. We report a case admitted in Intensive Care Unit with neurological manifestations, respiratory failure and development of Acute Kidney Injury following acute imidacloprid poisoning.