Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Aug 2008
Multicenter StudyPediatric emergency department suicidal patients: two-site evaluation of suicide ideators, single attempters, and repeat attempters.
Reducing youth suicide and suicide attempts are national priorities. Suicidal youth emergency department (ED) patients are at high risk for repeat and fatal attempts, yet information is lacking to guide service delivery. In one of the largest clinical studies of youth ED patients presenting with suicidality, we examine ideators, single attempters, and repeat attempters with the aim of clarifying optimal strategies for ED management and risk assessment. ⋯ Pediatric ED patients presenting with suicidal ideation, single attempts, and repeat attempts fall along a continuum of increasing risk. Suicide attempt risk in males is associated with high levels of depression, but not with increased treatment rates, suggesting undertreatment in males, a group with particularly high risk for death by suicide. Treatment barriers must be addressed to achieve our national goal of reducing suicide/suicide attempts in youths.