• Megan Theodoulou, Louise Harriss, Keith Hawton, and Christopher Bass.
• University Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, England, UK.
• J Psychosom Res. 2005 Apr 1; 58 (4): 317-20.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to establish how often pain was a factor contributing to an episode of deliberate self-harm.MethodRetrospective case note examination of all deliberate self-harm patients with concurrent medical problems admitted to a general hospital over 2 years.ResultsPain was considered to be a contributory factor in the episode of deliberate self-harm in 75 (4%) of the total number of episodes of deliberate self-harm (1665) over the 2-year period. These patients were older and had higher suicide intent scores, but lower rates of previous psychiatric illness or alcohol or drug misuse than did the deliberate self-harm patients with medical problems but no pain. Although 60% had experienced pain for more than 6 months only, 8 (12%) were attending the local Pain Clinic at the time of the deliberate self-harm.ConclusionWe propose closer collaboration between general hospital services and local pain clinics for deliberate self-harm patients with painful disorders. Clinicians need to assess suicidal ideation and risk of self-harm when prescribing for this population.

29 keywords...

hide…