INTRODUCTION Over the past 30 years, Beck’s Suicide Intent Scale has been recognized to predict recurrence of suicide attempt, but it is not known if it inuences the prognostic of these patients. e objective of this study was to assess the prognostic value of the Suicide Intent Scale (SIS) in deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) patients seen in the emergency department (ED).
METHODS A prospective observational study was conducted over three years. All patients with DSP admitted in the ED during the study period were included.e demographics, co-morbidities, clinical, biological data and in-hospital procedures were collected. The suicide attempters were assessed with the Beck’s Suicide Intent Scale. Receiver-operating characteristic curves and tables were created to establish the optimal cut-o! values for this scale. Patients admitted in an intensive care unit were considered as having a poor outcome.
RESULTS During the study period, 228 patients were enrolled. Mean age 26 +/- 9 years, sex ratio at 0.2. Sixty four patients (28%) had already committed suicide attempt. Drug poisoning was found in 84% of cases, and pesticide poisoning in 14% of cases. Fifty five patients (24%) were admitted in an intensive care unit. The prognostic value of the Suicide intent scale was demonstrated with a likelihood ratio to 14.7 (p<0.001). A cut-o! of 12 was predictive of intensive care unit admission and the Area Under Curve was 0.71 (p<0,001).
CONCLUSION e suicidal intent scale can also be a valuable tool to assess the short-term prognosis of DSP patients in the ED.
