Intentional poisoning with suicide intention: characteristics of the toxicology department contingent

Self-poisoning attempts are the most common method for committing suicide. Complex evaluation of that category of suicide attempters is an important task aiming to develop effective preventive measures. Aim of the study: to analyze main characteristics of the contingent of intentional self-poisoning attempters that were hospitalized to toxicology department. Materials and methods: data on 1460 patients (27,5% male, 72,5% female, aged 2 to 91) hospitalized to toxicology department of the Tyumen’ State budgetary health care institution Regional clinical hospital. Among them187 people with an intentional self-poisoning attempt and 1273 people suffered accidental poisoning. Also statistical data from the regional clinical hospital on suicide attempts in the region are presented. Results: It is shown that intentional self-poisoning attempts are the main method of attempted suicide (in Tyumen’ region alone it reaches up to 48,7%). Every third self-poisoning attempter (37,1%) is hospitalized because of the severity of their condition and receives specialized and/or high technology medical assistance within the toxicology department. People with intentional self-poisoning are significantly different from non-suicide patients in a number of characteristics. Among suicide attempters there are 8 times more females (M:F - 1:8,3) while among non-suicide patients females outweigh males just 2,3 times (M:F - 1:2,3). Comparing mean age indicators (suicide attempters -33,2±13,6 y.o., non-suicide patients - 29,8±11,4 y.o.) suicide behavior is statistically veraciously more often (44,4%) can be observed among group of 21-40 years of age - the most prominent age group for social and professional activity. When attempting suicide, attempters most often use substances that have a direct effect on CNS, including anticonvulsant, sedative and sleeping pills (21,9%), other psychotropic substances (16,0%), substances that have an effect on VNS (11,8%). On the contrary, among non-suicidal patients there prevail spirits of different types (21,4%), drugs and psychedelic substances (9,6%), carbon monoxide (7,7%). Among suicide attempters alcohol intoxication that preceded intentional self-poisoning was found in 45,5% cases which exceeds the group of acute poisoning 4,5 times -10,7%. Among people with intentional self-poisoning adaptation (32,1%), affective (9,6%) and other disorders prevail. Among non-intentional poisoning 95,1% of patients were not diagnosed with any psychiatric disorder. The authors conclude that hospital in-patients that attempted suicide have distinctive differences from inpatients with acute poisoning in a number of key characteristics that can be further used for more accurate differentiation of the given hospital contingent and taken into account when developing measures for increasing effectiveness of correction work and prevention of intentional self-poisoning attempts.