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Acute drug ingestion in a children's hospital emergency room
Abstract
This paper is a retrospective review of patients treated in a pediatric hospital emergency room for non‐accidental acute drug ingestions during a twelve month period. Typically, patient charts contained little information relevant to attempts to evaluate the lethality potential of such life threatening behavior. The types of drugs, post‐emergency room dispositions, demographic data of patients, and time of admissions were analyzed to learn who was treated, for what drug reactions, and what occurred following emergency room medical treatment. Few patients or their parents were seen by a mental health professional prior to being discharged from the emergency room.
Adolescent suicide has become an increasingly important problem in today's society. In an effort to understand the precipitating factors in adolescent suicide attempts and the professional response to the adolescent attempting suicide, a comprehensive review was undertaken at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA). A total of 232 subjects admitted to CHLA from January 1972 through July 1978 were included in a retrospective chart analysis. Data on adolescents who had attempted suicide were extracted from their medical records and compared with those of matched groups of adolescents admitted for reasons other than suicide attempt. Comparisons were made of demographic data, family background, hospital admissions, and professional involvement. Our findings confirmed that most attemptors are female midadolescents and are likely to use drugs in the attempt. In addition, our results underscored the importance of the family with respect to the precipitation of an adolescent suicide attempt and the subsequent treatment approach.
This investigation examined the continued self-destructive behaviors of adolescent suicide attemptors treated at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles from 1972 through 1978. A total of 235 questionnaires were mailed to subjects who were hospitalized as a result of an accident, illness, or suicide attempt. The questionnaire was designed to elicit data with respect to the occurrence, frequency of occurrence and medical consequences of various self-destructive behaviors. The results suggest that certain continued self-destructive behaviors may be manifested by adolescents who have attempted suicide. Implications of the findings of this pilot study are discussed with regard to developing a theoretical model of self-destructive behaviors in adolescent suicide attemptors and the clinical prediction of adolescent suicide.
This study investigated a sample of persons treated for acute drug reactions (overdoses) in a hospital emergency room setting to determine the general characteristics of these drug abusers and the incidence of drugs responsible for their admission. Detailed information is provided on the race and sex composition of these drug abusing patinets and comparisons are made with the general population of the area serviced by the hospital. The sample consisted of 1,128 persons who entered Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Dade County, Florida during 1972. A profile of the typical admission for emergency care of a nonfatal overdose reveals a white female, who is 18 to 24 years old and who has overdosed on a single legally manufactured and distributed substance, usually a sedative. Implications from the data for changes in health care delivery for acute drug reactions are provided.
The author describes a study of age, race, and sex distribution, psychiatric diagnoses, and subsequent dispositions of 138 attempted suicides. The large proportion (64.4 percent) of those returned home without arranged-for treatment and the high rate of repeat attempts suggest that present treatment is incomplete; a psychiatric-medical suicide care team is recommended as a possible solution.
Attempted suicide is not uncommon among adolescents. The ratio of attempted suicides to actual suicides is in the magnitude of 100:1. This is in contrast to quoted figures of 5:1. While actual suicides are more common in the male and in the white, attempted suicides are more frequent in the female, the Puerto Rican, and in the low socioeconomic groups. Another pertinent finding was the high percentage of suicides among adolescents from unstable and disorganized homes. Early identification of the high-risk group is essential. Intensive "after care" for all such individuals should be made mandatory. A prevention center is of value in the control of suicides. The accumulation of epidemiological data is a prerequisite to a clearer identification of the problem and in formulation of sound countermeasures.
A demographic evaluation of acute drug reactions in a hospital emergency room XIII (12), 1060-1069. Requests for reprints should be sent to Kenneth P. Drude, Eastway Community Mental Health Center
- D Peterson
- C Chambers
Peterson, D. and Chambers, C. A demographic evaluation of acute drug reactions in a hospital emergency room. Medical Care, 1975, XIII (12), 1060-1069. Requests for reprints should be sent to Kenneth P. Drude, Eastway Community Mental Health Center, Dayton, Ohio. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY @BULLET SUMMER 1978 @BULLET PAGE 155 Downloaded by [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign] at 22:46 16 March 2015
Emergency Evaluation of Self-Destruction Potentiality The cry for help
- R Litman
- N Farberow
Litman, R. and Farberow, N. Emergency Evaluation of Self-Destruction Potentiality. In N. Farberow and E. Schneidman (Eds.), The cry for help. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965.
- Jacobziner H.