J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2024 Feb;35(1):43-50.

Factors associated with follow-up loss of suicide attempted patients by emergency department-based case management services

• Suh MB
• Kim G
• Lee HW
• Lee WJ
• Woo SH
• Kim SY
• Kim D

Abstract

Objective
Emergency department-based interventions are known to be effective at reducing the risk of repeat suicide attempts among patients admitted to emergency departments after attempting suicide. However, the factors that influence loss to follow-up after emergency department-based interventions are not well known.
Methods
This study investigated suicide attempt patients who registered with an emergency department-based intervention and received counseling at least once from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients were allocated to a follow-up group or a loss-to-follow-up group depending on whether emergency department-based interventions had been performed more than three times. Clinical factors and socioeconomic status were considered independent variables. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors that influenced loss to emergency department-based interventions.
Results
Of 339 patients enrolled, 210 (61.9%) were lost to follow-up. Time taken to initiation of intervention after discharge (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38-4.30) and suicide attempt associated with physical illness (aOR=0.31; 95% CI, 0.14-0.68) independently influenced loss to emergency department-based interventions.
Conclusion
Initiation of intervention after discharge significantly influenced emergency department-based intervention follow-up loss of suicide attempt patients. The study suggests initiation of intervention prior to discharge might reduce the risk of repeat suicide attempts.

Keyword

Suicide; Mental health; Emergencies