Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with mental illnesses who attempted suicide by drug overdose: A retrospective analysis of 109 cases.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals with mental illnesses are exposed to an increased risk of suicide. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcome of psychiatric patients who attempted suicide by drug overdose and required emergency care.

METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Emergency, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Electronic medical records of psychiatric patients who were hospitalized due to suicide attempts from March 2019 to February 2022, with a discharge diagnosis of drug overdose were reviewed. Suicide-related data of patients were collected, including suicide month, time from suicide to admission, type of drugs, the number of tablets taken, as well as demographic and clinical profiles (e.g., gender, age, marital status, profession, physical comorbidities, and diagnosis of mental illness).

RESULTS: In the results, half of the patients were young people, female patients accounted for a higher proportion (72.5%), and the incidence of suicide was higher in winter than other seasons. Among the 109 psychiatric patients, 60 patients (55.0%) had a history of major depressive disorder, and 86 patients (78.9%) committed suicide with various psychotropic drugs, among which anxiolytics were the most commonly used drugs. Thirty-seven patients (33.9%) experienced severe physical complications caused by drug overdose, with lung infections being the most common. The clinical outcome of most patients was favorable following emergent treatment, while 2 patients (1.8%) older than 80 failed to survive.

CONCLUSION: A better understanding of psychiatric patients referred to emergency care due to suicide by drug overdose helps to improve the clinical management and prognosis of patients.