@article{ref1,
title="Self-harm by single- and multi-agent medication poisoning in a retrospective analysis of a Poison Control Center database from January 2018 to December 2022",
journal="Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety",
year="2024",
author="Milella, Michele Stanislaw and Petraccia, Luisa and Pirelli, Francesca and Foti, Giuseppe and Sapio, Maria and Berardi, Rosaria and Caprioli, Daniele and Pugliese, Francesco and Vivino, Gabriella",
volume="33",
number="2",
pages="e5767-e5767",
abstract="PURPOSE: Medication poisoning is the most common method of self-harm. Longitudinal studies incorporating pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic data are required to describe the phenomenon and to evaluate the long-term impact on mental health. <br><br>METHODS: Calls to the Poison Control Center of Policlinico Umberto I Hospital - Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, were analyzed retrospectively for characteristics and clinical presentation of cases of interest from January 2018 to December 2022. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 756 cases of self-harm by medication poisonings were recorded in the study period. A reduction in rate of cases in 2020 was followed by a return to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. When separately analyzing single- and multi-agent cases, occurrence of cases involving just one medication increased since early 2021, with a peak in 2022 (7.8% of total calls, 95% CI 6.2-9.5, from 4.9%, 95% CI 4.1-5.8 in 2018). This increase in the rate of cases, mostly of none or mild severity, was driven by youth aged 12-21, in which the relative proportion of single- versus multi-agent cases showed an increasing trend since 2020 (from 42.6% in 2018 to 78.6% in 2022). Acetaminophen was the medication most frequently involved and benzodiazepines the largest class. A psychiatric background was increasingly seen in 2022, especially in age group 12-21. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Single-agent medication self-harm may be an increasingly prevailing phenomenon. Young adolescents with a psychiatric background might be most vulnerable to this behavior in the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath. Healthcare professionals should expect favorable clinical outcome and improve both counseling and psychotherapy supervision in individuals at risk.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1053-8569",
doi="10.1002/pds.5767",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pds.5767"
}