Self-harm and self-poisoning in southern India: choice of poisoning agents and treatment.
Trop Med Int Health
; 14(7): 761-5, 2009 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19497080
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To record cases of suicide and attempted suicide among a population of 108 000 people living in a primarily rural area of southern India, with the aim of guiding policies and strategies to restrict access to poisonous compounds at community level.METHOD:
Community-based surveillance over a period of 2 years. RESULTS ANDCONCLUSION:
The overall suicide rate was 71.4 per 100 000 population; the highest burden was among men. Most people died through hanging (81, 54%) and self-poisoning (46, 31%). Of the 46 who died from self-poisoning, 78.3% had taken pesticides and 19.7% had eaten poisonous plants. Eighty per cent of the self-poisoning cases obtained the poisonous substance in or in close proximity to the home, highlighting the importance of safe storage in the domestic environment. Of the 110 fatal and non-fatal self-poisoning cases, 87 (57.5%) were taken for treatment; 50 (57.4%) went to government hospitals and 37 (42.5%) to private facilities. This indicates the importance of including the private sector in the efforts to improve case management. Furthermore, the fact that 31 (67%) of the self-poisoning patients, who eventually died, were alive after 4 h provides an incentive to focus on improved case management and access to health services.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Praguicidas
/
Suicídio
/
Medicamentos sob Prescrição
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article