O'Donoghue J M, Panchal J L, O'Sullivan S T, O'Shaughnessy M, O'Connor T P, Keeley H, Kelleher M J
Department of Plastic Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Wilton, Ireland.
Burns. 1998 Mar;24(2):144-6. doi: 10.1016/s0305-4179(97)00096-x.
In the Western World self-immolation is an uncommon but dramatic method of attempting suicide. In-patients who attempt suicide by fire-setting tend to be female with severe psychopathology. In a previous study from the South of Ireland, seven cases from a psychiatric and prison population were identified in a five year period from 1984 to 1989. This would represent an annual rate of 1.07 per cent of burns treated in the burns unit at Cork University Hospital. In this study 12 cases were identified for the years 1994 and 1995. This represents an increase of 3.5 per cent from 1.07 to 4.6 per cent of all burns treated at the same institution. Ten of these patients had a previous psychiatric history and eight of them were resident on a psychiatric ward when they committed the act. Seven of the patients were found to have a high degree of suicide intent of whom four died of their injuries, which gives a mortality rate for this group of 33 per cent. Effective prevention policies are necessary if this increasing problem is to be curtailed.
在西方世界，自焚是一种不常见但引人注目的自杀方式。试图通过纵火自杀的住院患者往往是患有严重精神病理学问题的女性。在爱尔兰南部此前的一项研究中，在1984年至1989年的五年时间里，从精神病院和监狱人群中识别出了7例此类病例。这相当于科克大学医院烧伤科所治疗烧伤病例年发生率的1.07%。在本研究中，1994年和1995年共识别出12例。这意味着在同一机构中，此类病例占所有烧伤病例的比例从1.07%上升到了4.6%，增长了3.5%。这些患者中有10人有精神病史，其中8人在实施自焚行为时住在精神科病房。发现7名患者有很高的自杀意图，其中4人因伤死亡，该群体的死亡率为33%。如果要遏制这个日益严重的问题，有效的预防政策是必要的。
