Retrospective study on suicide attempts among psychiatric emergencies admitted to the emergency department of a Regional hospital in Turkey

Abstract Introduction The aim of this study was to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of psychiatric emergencies presenting to emergency departments (ED), the provisional diagnoses and reasons for consultation by emergency physicians, and to determine the rate of suicide attempts among patients presenting to emergency departments for psychiatric emergencies. Methods The records of all patients aged 18 years and older admitted to the emergency department of the Department of Emergency Medicine, a tertiary hospital, with either a pre-existing psychiatric diagnosis or a new psychiatric provisional diagnosis made by emergency physicians between January 2020 and December 2023 were reviewed. Results According to the data obtained in the study, it was determined that the most common provisional diagnoses made by emergency physicians in psychiatric emergencies were suicide attempts (41.88%), agitation (21.94%), schizophrenia (8.44%), psychosis (7.91%) and manic attack (6.54%). It was found that 49.3% of psychiatric emergencies resulted in discharge and 25.5% resulted in hospitalisation. Among the provisional diagnoses, depression, mutism and sleep disorders were most commonly associated with refusal of treatment, while depression and suicide were the most common reasons for hospitalisation. Among psychiatric emergency patients who attempted suicide, medication, sharp objects and chemicals were the most common substances ingested. Discussion In this study, it was determined that a great portion of the emergency psychiatric cases admitted to the emergency department consisted of patients who attempted suicide. However, due to the crowdedness and fast pace of emergency departments, it is understood that in psychiatric emergencies, epidemiological profile data are missing in the files of the cases and detailed medical history cannot be obtained from the patients We think that recording better data of patient who admitted a psychiatric condition to the emergency department will provide better information about the patients in future visits and improve the care to be provided. Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses recommend the implementation of emergency department-based rehabilitation programs for these patients.