2015 Volume 27 Issue 3 Pages 233-240
The objective of this study was to investigate changes in sociodemographics, clinical features, and responses of patients who attempted suicide using psychotropic medications after the placement of a psychiatric social worker (PSW) at the emergency department. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 499 patients (117 males, 382 females) who attempted suicide and who had been admitted to and were treated at the Kitasato University Hospital Emergency Medical Center between January 2009 and December 2013. We examined and compared the sociodemographic and clinical data of all patients before and after the PSW placement. After the PSW placement, the proportion of patients with unknown work, psychiatric diagnosis, and/or suicide attempt history data, which are essential clinical features required for psychiatric evaluation and risk assessment, was reduced. The proportion of discharged patients decreased, whereas that of transferred patients increased; however, no difference was found in the number of stays at the emergency department before and after the PSW placement. We found that the variation in the Lethality of Suicide Attempt Rating Scale (LSARS) score in transferred patients decreased, and patients with higher LSARS scores were properly transferred to other hospitals by the PSW. These findings suggested that psychosocial interventions by the PSW were effective in preventing subsequent suicidal behaviors in patients attempting suicide with psychotropic medications.
