NCJ Number
233630
Date Published
May 2010
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Data on drug-related emergency department (ED) visits in 2008 that involved suicide attempts among adolescents ages 12 -17 were obtained from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related ED visits in the United States.
Abstract
In order to qualify as a DAWN case, the ED visit must have involved a drug, either as the direct cause of the visit or as a contributing factor. The DAWN data indicate that during 2008, 8.8 percent of drug-related ED visits made by adolescents ages 12 to 17 involved suicide attempts. Females were the subjects in 72.3 percent of the ED visits for drug-related suicide attempts in 2008. Pharmaceuticals were the drugs involved in 96.4 percent of drug-related suicide attempts among adolescents. There was evidence of follow-up care for 77 percent of the ED visits for drug-related suicide attempts among adolescents. ED follow-up that involved less dangerous drugs (e.g., ibuprofen products) received less follow-up than ED visits that involved prescription drugs such as antidepressants. This suggests the need to promote more uniform interventions for suicide attempts that involve all types of drugs. An ED visit for a suicide attempt is an opportunity to intervene with the parents/caretakers in order to educate them about the importance of monitoring the medicines to which the child has access. 1 table, 2 figures, and 5 notes