Banu KATLAN, Müslüm KUL, İsmail KIZILDAĞ, Mesut TOPDEMİR, Özlem Kahraman ÇAYAN, Salim EKİCİ, Feyza Hatice EKİCİ
The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics - 2026;68(5):790-803
Background. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected adolescent mental health. This study compares pediatric intensive care unit admissions (PICU) due to adolescent suicide attempts across pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-COVID periods. Methods. This retrospective study included adolescents aged 9-18 years admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit of Mersin City Training and Research Hospital for suicide attempts. Data were classified into pre-COVID (January 2019-March 2020), COVID (April 2020-March 2022), and post-COVID (April 2022-August 2024) periods. Variables included demographics, suicide method, psychiatric history, previous attempts, organ support, and outcomes. Results. Of the 7,074 PICU admissions, 452 (6.4%) were for suicide attempts. Drug ingestion was predominant (95.8%). In the post-COVID period, the proportion of male cases, multiple-drug ingestions, and use of high-lethality methods increased, along with a greater need for intensive organ support. Mortality was observed only in the post-COVID period, with a rate of 1.8%. Logistic regression identified high-lethality methods, psychiatric follow-up, and previous attempts as predictors of severe outcomes in the post-COVID period. Conclusions. Adolescent suicide attempts requiring PICU admission became more severe after COVID-19. Early risk detection and targeted interventions are essential.
