Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
S Afr Med J. 2022 Apr 29;112(5):347-351.
With 23.5 suicide-related deaths per 100 000 population, South Africa (SA) has the eighth-highest age-standardised suicide rate in the world. Intentional self-poisoning is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and cost. In SA, self-poisoning is the leading method of suicide in females and the second leading method in males.
To determine the profile of patients presenting with intentional self-poisoning to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital emergency department.
The study was a cross-sectional, retrospective audit of the medical records of patients who presented over a 12-month period with intentional self-poisoning.
Of the 288 patients included, 62.8% were female, 62.1% were aged 18 - 30 years, 22.2% were foreign nationals, 88.9% were single, 62.8% were unemployed, 82.3% reported that the episode was precipitated by an acute stressful event, 5.6% required intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and 4.5% died prior to hospital discharge. Organophosphate/carbamate pesticide ingestion was the most common method of self-poisoning (25.3%) and was responsible for the majority of ICU admissions (81.3%), cases requiring hospitalisation for >6 days (56.5%) and deaths (69.2%).
A large proportion of patients were female, 18 - 30 years of age, single, unemployed, and reported an acute stressful event as a precipitant. Organophosphate/carbamate pesticide ingestion was the most common method of self-poisoning and accounted for the majority of deaths and ICU admissions. Nationwide efforts should be aimed at enhancing awareness and implementing strategies to identify those at increased risk of suicidal behaviour.
南非（SA）的自杀相关死亡率为每 10 万人中有 23.5 人，是世界上第八个自杀率标准化最高的国家。故意自我中毒与重大发病率、死亡率和成本有关。在南非，自我中毒是女性自杀的主要方法，也是男性自杀的第二大主要方法。
确定因故意自我中毒到夏洛特·马克斯凯 Johannesburg 学术医院急诊科就诊的患者的特征。
该研究是对在 12 个月期间因故意自我中毒就诊的患者的医疗记录进行的横断面、回顾性审核。
在纳入的 288 名患者中，62.8%为女性，62.1%年龄在 18-30 岁之间，22.2%为外国公民，88.9%为单身，62.8%失业，82.3%报告说，此次发病是由急性应激事件引发的，5.6%需要入住重症监护病房（ICU），4.5%在出院前死亡。有机磷/氨基甲酸酯类农药摄入是最常见的自我中毒方法（25.3%），也是大多数 ICU 入院（81.3%）、需要住院治疗超过 6 天（56.5%）和死亡（69.2%）的主要原因。
很大一部分患者为女性，年龄在 18-30 岁之间，单身、失业，并且报告急性应激事件是发病的诱因。有机磷/氨基甲酸酯类农药摄入是最常见的自我中毒方法，也是导致大多数死亡和 ICU 入院的原因。应在全国范围内努力提高认识，并制定策略，以确定那些有自杀行为风险增加的人。
