DE LA ESPRIELLA, Ricardo. Suicide in Psychiatric Institutions 1998-2007. []. , 39, 2, pp.268-290. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Suicide in psychiatric facilities is a poorly studied infrequent event. Suicide prediction is a complex task that includes variables that cannot be modified by medical intervention. Material and Methods: Multicentric case series of deaths by suicide in seven psychiatric institutions, from 1998 to 2007, in five Colombian cities. Characteristics and risk factors were analyzed based on suicide risk rated by a posteriori SADS-PERSON scale. Results: 12 cases were found including 7 males and 5 females. Mean age was 36.42 years. The most frequent method of death was by hanging (11 cases), 3 of which (25% of the total sample) used the restraint material. Conclusions: The scale used rated high risk in only one case. Restraints used to control suicide risk were used by 25% of the patients to commit suicide. Total suicide risk control is not possible due to the complexity of the variables involved.

: hospitales psiquiátricos; Suicide; mental disorder; psychiatric hospitals.

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