Psycho-social and clinical patterns of suicide attempt by burning

الملخص EN

Objectives : are to study the psychosocial characteristics and clinical patterns of patients with burn attempted suicide.

Methods : 72 patients with burn attempted suicide out of a total of 912 patients admitted to the burn units of four centers in Baghdad from 15th May 2008 to 31st December 2008 were studied.

General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Socio-demographic data and Diagnostic Statistical Manual 1V (DSM-IV) were used in the study.

Results : Burn attempted suicide (BAS) represents 7.9 % of all admissions and is more common among females (n = 61) than males (n = 11).

Half of the cases were between 25 and 35 years of age with the mean age of 30 years, all males and the majority of females (66.7 %) were married.

The mortality rate was 69.4 % and the median total body surface area (TBSA) burnt was 62.5 % .

41.6 % of patients (n = 30) had previous attempt for burn attempted suicide (BAS).

75 % of subjects had a psychiatric diagnosis, of which the most common diagnosis was adjustment disorder (41.6 %).

while the other (25 %) Hadn’t mental illnesses.

Conclusion : Burn attempted suicide are relatively common in burn units.