Abstract

RANGEL-GARZON, Claudia Ximena; SUAREZ-BELTRAN, María Fernanda  and  ESCOBAR-CORDOBA, Franklin. Risk suicide assessment scales in primary care. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2015, vol.63, n.4, pp.707-716. ISSN 0120-0011.  https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v63.n4.50849.

Background. The primary care physician must decide what to do with a patient who has attempted to commit suicide or has shown suicidal ideas. When it is possible, they must send the patient to a psychiatrist, somehow, sometimes this must be done later. Objective. To find a means of assessing suicide risk in adults that can be applied by general practitioners in the emergency department. Materials and methods. A literature review in PubMed with MeSH terms "suicide" and "risk assessment" and "scales" was done. 270 articles were found and their abstracts were analyzed. 24 studies were included. Results. There were nine instruments in line with the review. Others were discarded because they involved specific diagnosis, different age groups, other special populations, prolonged time of application and other focused on protective factors, as well as patient opinions on suicide. Conclusions. These scales can be used as a tool to decide if a patient shows suicide risk but do not replace the interview with a psychiatrist. The "Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation" and the "Plutchik Suicide Risk Scale" are suggested because they have psychometric properties, the appropriate application time in the emergency department and simple questions to be used by primary care personnel.

Keywords : Suicide; Scales; Risk; Primary Care.

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