Citation

Dhossche DM, Rich CL, Ghani SO, Isacsson G. J. Affect. Disord. 2001; 64(2-3): 167-174.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, 2451 Fillingim Street, Mobile, AL, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11313083

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Postmortem toxicology can be useful for reconstructing some clinically important events occurring before a suicide. Its utility may be improved by examining patterns of detected substances in a population over time. METHODS: Toxicology was performed for 333 (96%) of the 346 suicides occurring in Mobile County, Alabama, between October 1990 and September 1998. Detected psychoactive substances were grouped in three categories: alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis; abusable prescription medications; and non-abused psychotropic medications. The overlap between these three categories was assessed. RESULTS: Psychoactive substances were detected in 227 (68%) of 333 suicides. Of the cases positive for any prescription psychoactive medication, 2/3 were positive for an abusable medication. An abusable substance was found in 56% of cases positive for non-abused psychotropic medication. Alcohol, cocaine and/or cannabis were found in 34% of cases with abusable prescription medications and in 33% with non-abused psychotropics. LIMITATIONS: Clinicians must be aware of a number of methodological realities when interpreting routine postmortem toxicology results. CONCLUSIONS: Routine surveillance of psychoactive substances among suicides can provide useful data for directing and monitoring strategies for suicide prevention in clinical practice.

Language: en