Süleyman KIRIK, Mehmet Göktuğ EFGAN, Şahin AYDINÖZ, Ejder Saylav BORA, Tutku DUMAN ŞAHAN
Eurasian Journal of Toxicology - 2025;7(3):50-54
Objective: Suicide attempts remain a major public health concern worldwide and account for a substantial proportion of emergency department (ED) admissions. Emergency departments play a critical role in both the acute medical stabilization and the psychiatric assessment of patients following suicide attempts. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients presenting to a university hospital emergency department due to suicide attempts, to describe the methods used, and to assess factors associated with in-hospital outcomes. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, descriptive study included patients aged 18 years and older who presented to a university hospital emergency department due to suicide attempts between January 2020 and September 2025. Cases were identified through the hospital information system using relevant keywords and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic codes. Demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, educational level, and employment status), clinical characteristics (psychiatric diagnosis and family history of suicide), and attempt-related features (number of attempts and method used) were recorded. In-hospital outcomes were classified as discharge or death. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0. Continuous variables were compared using the Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test, as appropriate, while categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 1,544 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 37.74+/-14.77 years, and 47.4% of the patients were female. Overall, 57 patients (3.7%) died during in-hospital follow-up. Patients in the deceased group were significantly older than those who were discharged (41.80+/-15.32 vs. 37.59+/-14.73 years, p=0.032). The method of suicide attempt was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (p=0.001), with higher death rates observed in high-lethality methods such as hanging and jumping from height. Educational level also differed significantly between groups (p=0.043). No statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of sex, marital status, employment status, psychiatric diagnosis, number of attempts, or family history of suicide. Conclusion: In this study, in-hospital mortality following suicide attempts was associated with older age, the lethality of the method used, and educational level. These findings underscore the importance of method- and age-based risk assessment in the emergency department and highlight the need for closer monitoring and targeted preventive strategies for high-risk patients.
