Sex differences in patients with suicidal intent that are managed by toxicologists: An analysis of the Toxicology Investigators’ Consortium (ToxIC) Registry
Publication/Presentation Date
10-2019
Abstract
Introduction
The Toxicology Investigator’s Consortium (ToxIC) maintains a prospective case registry of all patients that have been managed at the bedside by medical toxicologists. We set out to characterize the differences in toxicological suicide attempts between men and women among adult patients with poisonings managed by medical toxicologists.
Methods
ToxIC database consults for adults aged 19-65 whose primary reasons for encounter were classified as suicide attempt were used for this study (1/2010-12/2016). Data used for analysis included primary agents of toxic exposure, routes of administration, and complications. The statistical analysis was limited to descriptive methods.
Results
Out of 51,440 registry cases, 33,259 cases remained for analysis after applying the ages 19-65 and removing those without complete data. Of these, there were 4,827 suicide attempts (14.5% of toxicological exposures) which were sub classified by gender.
There were more females (F) than males (M) whose toxicology consults were due to suicidal attempts (57.6% versus 42.4%). We also found that more males used alcohol as their primary agent (2.8%M v 1.5%F) or a nonpharmaceutical (%7.4 M v %2.3 F).
Conclusions
In our study, we found that there were more females than males who attempted suicide by self-poisoning; and more of them used pharmaceuticals than males. In contrast, a greater number of males used nonpharmaceuticals such as alcohol. We did not find large sex-differences in suicide completion rates, routes of administration, or subsequent symptomologies. In summary, sex-based differences were observed between adult patients with suicidal-intent exposures/ingestions managed at the bedside by medical toxicologists.
Published In/Presented At
Beauchamp, G. A., Fishbein, J. Makar, G. A., Pechulis, R. Cook, M. D., Cannon, R. D., Katz, K. D., Kincaid, H. Carey, J. L., Greenberg, M. R. On behalf of Toxicology Investigators' Consortium (ToxIC). (2019). Sex differences in patients with suicidal intent that are managed by toxicologists: An analysis of the Toxicology Investigators’ Consortium (ToxIC) Registry. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine
PubMedID
31706659
Department(s)
Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty, Department of Emergency Medicine Residents, Department of Medicine, Department of Medicine Faculty, Network Office of Research and Innovation
Document Type
Article