RESUMO
AIM: Pediatrics Service of Hospital of Rancagua is the most complex into the Public Healthcare System of the Sixth Region of Chile. Adolescent suicide attempts which need hospitalization increased during the last years. The research objective is to know the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of adolescents who are discharged because suicide attempts and to identify the behavior and risk factors of the adolescent at risk for suicide. METHOD: It is a case-control study. Case is defined as patients discharged because intentional self-poisoning by drugs in the period of 2002-2004. Controls are patients discharged in the same period, paired with cases by sex and age. RESULTS: 88 % of cases are women, mean age is 13.1 years. Medicaments used are mixture of different drugs (53 %) and death is the real intention in 49 %. Familial violence and depressive symptoms are important as risks factors for suicide. CONCLUSIONS: There is predominance of females. Adolescents have easy access to medicaments of all kind. It is remarkable that death and need for having attention and change undesirable's personal situations are the motives for the suicidal behavior. Identification of risk factors for suicide is a good pediatrician's practice for preventing this problem.
Assuntos
Tentativa de Suicídio/estatística & dados numéricos , Adolescente , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
Objetivo: El Servicio de Pediatría del Hospital Regional de Rancagua es el más complejo del Sistema Público de Salud de la Sexta Región de Chile. Los intentos de suicidio en adolescentes que requieren hospitalización han aumentado en los últimos años de forma preocupante. El objetivo del estudio es conocer las características clínicas y epidemiológicas de los pacientes egresados con diagnóstico de intento de suicidio y determinar los factores de riesgo que precipitan la toma de la decisión del acto suicida. Método: Se trata de un estudio retrospectivo de casos y controles. Se definen como casos (43) aquellos pacientes que presentaron el diagnóstico de envenenamiento por sustancias medicamentosas con propósito suicida en el período 2002-2004, y los controles (67) son pareados por edad y sexo y se eligen dentro de la misma base poblacional. Resultados: El 88 % de los casos son mujeres, con una media de edad de 13,1 años. Los fármacos usados son una combinación de varios tipos (53 %), y la intencionalidad de morir se da en el 49 % de los casos. La violencia intrafamiliar y la presencia de rasgos depresivos son los factores que agregan riesgo significativo de suicidio. Conclusiones: Existe un predominio del sexo femenino y se aprecia que los adolescentes tienen acceso fácil a una gran variedad de medicamentos. Destaca la intención de morir y la necesidad de llamar la atención para cambiar una situación no deseable para el adolescente, como la motivación del acto suicida. El reconocimiento de los factores de riesgo por parte del pediatra es fundamental para la prevención del suicidio en adolescentes
Aim: Pediatrics Service of Hospital of Rancagua is the most complex into the Public Healthcare System of the Sixth Region of Chile. Adolescent suicide attempts which need hospitalization increased during the last years. The research objective is to know the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of adolescents who are discharged because suicide attempts and to identify the behavior and risk factors of the adolescent at risk for suicide. Method: It is a case-control study. Case is defined as patients discharged because intentional self-poisoning by drugs in the period of 2002-2004. Controls are patients discharged in the same period, paired with cases by sex and age. Results: 88 % of cases are women, mean age is 13.1 years. Medicaments used are mixture of different drugs (53 %) and death is the real intention in 49 %. Familial violence and depressive symptoms are important as risks factors for suicide. Conclusions: There is predominance of females. Adolescents have easy access to medicaments of all kind. It is remarkable that death and need for having attention and change undesirable's personal situations are the motives for the suicidal behavior. Identification of risk factors for suicide is a good pediatrician's practice for preventing this problem
