Objective:
To investigate the characteristics of the victims of suicide attempts treated in pre-hospital services and the time intervals consumed in this phase of care.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study, which used data from pre-hospital care to victims of suicide attempts occurred in the town of Arapiraca, in 2011. For data analysis, Fisher’s exact test, Student’s t test and multiple logistic regression were performed.
Results:
A total of 80 victims of suicide attempts were treated by pre-hospital care service. Women over the age of men were the most attempted suicide victims (n = 44, 55%) and drug intoxication was the most used method (n = 44, 55%). Suicide attempts occurred more frequently in autumn (n = 29, 36.25%), on Sunday (n = 18, 22.5%), mainly in the afternoon (n = 33, 41.25%). The time spent in the pre-hospital care varied between 34.4 and 40.5 minutes. The variables that were associated with suicide attempts by sex were: age (p = 0.03) and the transportation time (p = 0.01).
Conclusion:
It was found that there were differences between the sexes of the victims of suicide attempts treated by pre-hospital attendance. Women were older than men and the transportation time was higher in male victims, suggesting greater severity in suicide attempts committed by this particular group.
Suicide attempted; suicide; emergency medical services; epidemiology