Suicide attempts by jumping and length of stay in general hospital: A retrospective study of 225 patients

Louise Todorov; Hélène Vulser; Romain Pirracchio; Isabelle Thauvin; Andrei Radtchenko; Jean Vidal; Pierre Guigui; Frédéric Limosin; Cédric Lemogne

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.02.001

Suicide attempts by jumping and length of stay in general hospital: A retrospective study of 225 patients

J Psychosom Res. 2019 Apr:119:34-41. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.02.001. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Authors

Louise Todorov¹, Hélène Vulser², Romain Pirracchio³, Isabelle Thauvin⁴, Andrei Radtchenko⁴, Jean Vidal⁵, Pierre Guigui⁶, Frédéric Limosin⁷, Cédric Lemogne⁷

Affiliations

¹ AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie de l'adulte et du sujet âgé, Paris, France. Electronic address: louise.todorov@aphp.fr.
² AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie de l'adulte et du sujet âgé, Paris, France; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France.
³ Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France; AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service d'Anesthésie-Réanimation, Paris, France; Inserm U1153, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Saint Louis Hospital, Paris, France.
⁴ AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie de l'adulte et du sujet âgé, Paris, France.
⁵ AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service de Médecine physique et Réadaptation, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
⁶ Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France; AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service de Chirurgie orthopédique et Traumatologie, Paris, France.
⁷ AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest, Service de Psychiatrie et Addictologie de l'adulte et du sujet âgé, Paris, France; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France; Inserm U1266, UMR-S 1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Paris, France.

PMID: 30947815
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.02.001

Abstract

Objective: Violent suicide attempts, such as jumping from a height, frequently lead to hospitalization in general hospital with high length of stay (LOS). We investigated features associated with LOS in this context.

Methods: We retrospectively included all patients admitted after suicide attempts by jumping in non-psychiatric wards of a university hospital between 2008 and 2016. Several socio-demographic and clinical data were collected, including psychiatric diagnoses, coded with the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision. We used general linear models to identify factors associated with LOS.

Results: Among 225 patients (125 men; mean age ± sd: 37.5 ± 15.4 years), several clinical factors were independently associated with a longer LOS: number of injuries (β = 8.2 p < .001), external fixator (β = 18.1 p = .01), psychotic disorder (β = 14.6 p = .02) and delirium (β = 16.6 p = .005). Admission in psychiatric ward at discharge tended to be associated with lower LOS (β = -15.3 p = .07).

Conclusion: In patients admitted in non-psychiatric wards after suicide attempt by jumping, the presence of a psychotic disorder may increase LOS by several days, and indirectly costs of hospitalization, to a similar extent of non-psychiatric factors. The association of transfer in psychiatric ward with lower LOS suggests that the psychiatric disorder might interfere with medical care.

Keywords: Consultation liaison psychiatry; Jumping; Length of stay; Suicide attempt.

MeSH terms

Adult
Female
Hospitalization
Hospitals, General
Humans
Length of Stay
Male
Retrospective Studies
Suicide, Attempted / psychology*