Todorov L, Vulser H, Pirracchio R, Thauvin I, Radtchenko A, Vidal J, Guigui P, Limosin F, Lemogne C. J. Psychosom. Res. 2019; 119: 34-41.
Affiliation
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.
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.