Optimizing the assessment of suicide attempters with a decision tree

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S602-S603
Author(s):  
J. Lopez-Castroman ◽  
D. Delgado-Gomez ◽  
P. Courtet ◽  
E. Baca-Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Decision Tree ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Test Set ◽  
Adaptive Tests ◽  
Suicide Attempters ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Set Up

BackgroundOptimizing psychiatric assessments could help to standardize the use of structured instruments in clinical practice. In recent years, several research groups have applied Computerized Adaptive Tests (CATs) to simplify assessments in depression, anxiety and also suicidal behaviors. We aimed to construct a shortened test to classify suicide attempters using a decision tree methodology that allows the integration of relevant clinical information, namely the history of past suicide attempts, in the construction of the test.MethodsThe sample was composed of 902 adult participants in three subsamples: first-time suicide attempters, psychiatric inpatients that never attempted suicide and healthy controls. The performance of a decision tree built using the items of a previously developed scale for suicidal risk was examined. The history of past suicide attempts was used to separate patients in the decision tree. The data was randomly divided in a training set and a test set. The test set, that contained 25% of the data, was used to determine the accuracy of the decision tree. Twenty-five cross-validations of this set up were conducted.ResultsThe first four items of the decision tree classified correctly 81.4% of the patients.ConclusionAs a result of a methodology based on decision trees that, contrary to CATs, can incorporate relevant information in building the test we were able to create a shortened test capable of separating suicidal and non-suicidal patients. Using all the information that is available improves the precision and utility of instruments adapted for psychiatric assessments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Characteristics of suicide attempters with a high lethality means

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s889-s889
Author(s):  
C.T. Lee ◽  
S.Y. Lee ◽  
K.U. Lee ◽  
H.K. Lee ◽  
Y.S. Kweon
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Judgment ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Suicide Attempters ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Lethal Means

IntroductionSuicide attempts with higher lethality increase the likelihood of suicide completion. Accumulating knowledge on risk factors contributing to higher suicide lethality may help clinicians to allocate their limited resources to more endangered people.ObjectivesTo explore the factors associated with higher lethality in suicide attempts.MethodsAll suicide attempters, who visited the emergency department of Uijeongbu St. Mary's hospital from January 2014 to December 2015, were reviewed retrospectively. We compared between the high vs. the low lethality group, of which had been recorded based on clinical judgment using t-test or Chi2/Fisher's exact test with two-sided P-value of 0.05.ResultsAmong the 753 suicide attempters, the assessed lethality was recorded in 736 cases. Low and highly lethal attempters were 426 (57.9%) and 310 (42.1%), respectively. For demographic variables, the high lethality attempters were significantly more likely to be older (48.3 vs. 44.78; P = 0.009), unemployed (61.0% vs. 56.5%; P = 0.042, without religion (90.9% vs. 84.9%; P = 0.017). For clinical variables, the high lethality attempters were significantly more likely have hopelessness (67.7% vs. 58.2%; P = 0.013) and a history of schizophrenia (4.5% vs. 1.4%; P = 0.023, while they did display any difference for mood disorders. The low lethality suicide attempts were more frequent in patients with comorbid personality disorders (9.2% vs. 4.9%; P = 0.031).ConclusionsThese results are in line with literatures reporting higher suicide risk in people, who are old, unemployed, not having a religion, psychotic and hopeless. These may have been moderated by committing a higher lethal means of suicide at least in part and warrants additional investigations.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Attempted suicide attention at an emergency room: A hospital-based descriptive approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S603-S603
Author(s):  
D. Torres ◽  
G. Martinez-Ales ◽  
M. Quintana ◽  
V. Pastor ◽  
M.F. Bravo
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Room ◽  
Attempted Suicide ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitalization ◽  
Study Results ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Medium Cost ◽  
Rule Out

IntroductionSuicide causes 1.4% of deaths worldwide. Twenty times more frequent, suicide attempts entail an important source of disability and of psychosocial and medical resources use.ObjectiveTo describe main socio-demographical and psychiatric risk factors of suicide attempters treated in a general hospital's emergency room basis.AimsTo identify individual features potentially useful to improve both emergency treatments and resource investment.MethodsA descriptive study including data from 2894 patients treated in a general hospital's emergency room after a suicidal attempt between years 2006 and 2014.ResultsSixty-nine percent of the population treated after an attempted suicide were women. Mean age was 38 years old. Sixty-six percent had familiar support; 48.5% had previously attempted a suicide (13% did not answer this point); 72.6% showed a personal history of psychiatric illness. Drug use was present in 38.3% of the patients (20.3% did not answer this question); 23.5% were admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit. Medium cost of a psychiatric hospitalization was found to be 4900 euros.ConclusionThis study results agree with previously reported data. Further observational studies are needed in order to bear out these findings, rule out potential confounders and thus infer and quantify causality related to each risk factor.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Neuropsychological deficits in past suicide attempters with varying levels of depression severity

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (14) ◽  
pp. 2965-2974 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Keilp ◽  
S. R. Beers ◽  
A. K. Burke ◽  
N. M. Melhem ◽  
M. A. Oquendo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Past History ◽  
Clinical State ◽  
Suicide Attempters ◽  
History Of ◽  
Attention Memory ◽  
Interference Processing

BackgroundOur previous work identified deficits in interference processing and learning/memory in past suicide attempters who were currently depressed and medication-free. In this study, we extend this work to an independent sample studied at various stages of illness and treatment (mild symptoms, on average) to determine if these deficits in past suicide attempters are evident during a less severe clinical state.MethodA total of 80 individuals with a past history of major depression and suicide attempt were compared with 81 individuals with a history of major depression and no lifetime suicide attempts on a battery of neurocognitive measures assessing attention, memory, abstract/contingent learning, working memory, language fluency and impulse control.ResultsPast attempters performed more poorly in attention, memory and working memory domains, but also in an estimate of pre-morbid intelligence. After correction for this estimate, tests that had previously distinguished past attempters – a computerized Stroop task and the Buschke Selective Reminding Test – remained significantly worse in attempters. In a secondary analysis, similar differences were found among those with the lowest levels of depression (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score <10), suggesting that these deficits may be trait markers independent of current symptomatology.ConclusionsDeficits in interference processing and learning/memory constitute an enduring defect in information processing that may contribute to poor adaptation, other higher-order cognitive impairments and risk for suicidal behavior.

Dissociative disorder – unraveling the mystery

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S327-S327
Author(s):  
L. Sousa ◽  
A. Antunes ◽  
S. Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationship ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Dissociative Disorders ◽  
Dissociative Disorder ◽  
Clinical Interviews ◽  
Medical Interventions ◽  
Brazilian Woman ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Car Accident

IntroductionDissociative disorders are among the most enigmatic and controversial psychiatric pathologies. In the last decades, great interest has emerged in understanding its pathophysiology, nonetheless, problems in recognition and management of these disorders are still challenging the psychiatric community.ObjectivesWe describe a paradigmatic case of a dissociative disorder illustrating the “choice” of dissociation as a strategy for coping with a traumatic reality.AimCall attention to problems that interfere with the recognition, diagnosis and management of dissociative disorders.MethodsBibliographic research was conducted through the PubMed in the Medline library and clinical information was obtained through medical records and clinical interviews with the patient.ResultsA 51-year-old Brazilian woman with no psychiatric history presented to the psychiatric outpatient care with apparent dissociative symptoms, these consisted of amnesia for episodes of agitation and aggressive behavior that occurred mainly at bed time. She had been previously on general practice and neurology consultations but none organic diagnose was made. Already in psychiatry, it was recognized that those symptoms developed together after a car accident and the beginning of a romantic relationship. It was also recognized that she has sexual dysfunction and a history of sexual abuse by a family member during her childhood, a known risk factor to dissociative disorders.ConclusionsSkepticism and lack of understanding might be the reason for late psychiatric referral after the realization of various expensive and time-consuming medical exams. Improving the recognition of dissociative disorders will conduce not only to better clinical outcomes but also improve cost effectivity of medical interventions.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Accurate classification of secondary progression in multiple sclerosis using a decision tree

2020 ◽  
pp. 135245852097532
Author(s):  
Ryan Ramanujam ◽  
Feng Zhu ◽  
Katharina Fink ◽  
Virginija Danylaitė Karrenbauer ◽  
Johannes Lorscheider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Decision Tree ◽  
Clinical Judgment ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Disease Classification ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Phenotype Transition ◽  
Independent Cohort

Background: The absence of reliable imaging or biological markers of phenotype transition in multiple sclerosis (MS) makes assignment of current phenotype status difficult. Objective: The authors sought to determine whether clinical information can be used to accurately assign current disease phenotypes. Methods: Data from the clinical visits of 14,387 MS patients in Sweden were collected. Classifying algorithms based on several demographic and clinical factors were examined. Results obtained from the best classifier when predicting neurologist recorded disease classification were replicated in an independent cohort from British Columbia and were compared to a previously published algorithm and clinical judgment of three neurologists. Results: A decision tree (the classifier) containing only most recently available expanded disability scale status score and age obtained 89.3% (95% confidence intervals (CIs): 88.8–89.8) classification accuracy, defined as concordance with the latest reported status. Validation in the independent cohort resulted in 82.0% (95% CI: 81.0–83.1) accuracy. A previously published classification algorithm with slight modifications achieved 77.8% (95% CI: 77.1–78.4) accuracy. With complete patient history of 100 patients, three neurologists obtained 84.3% accuracy compared with 85% for the classifier using the same data. Conclusion: The classifier can be used to standardize definitions of disease phenotype across different cohorts. Clinically, this model could assist neurologists by providing additional information.

scholarly journals Bipolar disorder first episode and suicidal behavior: are there differences according to type of suicide attempt?

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Silva Neves ◽  
Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz ◽  
Izabela Guimarães Barbosa ◽  
Paulo Marcos Brasil ◽  
Humberto Corrêa
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Suicide Attempters ◽  
Lifetime History ◽  
Bipolar Ii ◽  
History Of

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the polarity of the first mood episode may be a marker for suicidal behavior, particularly the violent subtype. METHOD: One hundred and sixty-eight patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (DSM-IV) were grouped according to type of first episode: depression or manic/hypomanic. Groups were compared for demographic and clinical variables. We performed logistic regression in order to test the association between first episode polarity and suicidal behavior. RESULTS: We found that depressed patients have a lifetime history of more suicide attempts. However, univariate analysis of number of suicide attempts showed that the best model fits the bipolar II subtype (mean square = 15.022; p = 0.010) and lifetime history of psychotic episodes (mean square = 17.359; p = 0.021). Subgrouping the suicide attempts by subtype (violent or non-violent) revealed that manic/hypomanic patients had a greater tendency toward attempting violent suicide (21.2 vs. 14.7%, X² = 7.028, p = 0.03). Multiple logistic regression analysis confirmed this result. CONCLUSION: Depressed patients had more suicide attempts over time, which could be explained by the higher prevalence of bipolar II subtype in this group, whereas manic/hypomanic patients had a lifelong history of more frequent violent suicide attempts, not explained by any of the variables studied. Our results support the evidence that non-violent suicide attempters and violent suicide attempters tend to belong to different phenotypic groups.

Childhood Trauma in Bipolar Disorders: Familial and Individual Mediators for Predicting Occurrence and Outcome

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S28-S28
Author(s):  
B. Etain
Keyword(s):  
Physical Abuse ◽  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Bipolar Disorders ◽  
Affect Intensity ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Psychotic Features

Childhood trauma is highly prevalent in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and has been associated to a more severe/complex expression of the disorder. Little is known about the familial and individual factors that can mediate the occurrence of trauma within families but also influence the outcomes of BD. We will present data from two independent samples of patients with BD in order to identify the potential mediators for occurrence and severity/complexity. In a first sample of 371 patients with BD, 256 relatives and 157 healthy controls, we will show that there is a familial resemblance for emotional and physical abuses. Patients’ level of physical abuse was associated with their parental levels of physical abuse, but also with their father's history of alcohol misuse (p < 0.05). Second, in a sub-sample of 270 normothymic patients, we have performed a path-analysis to demonstrate that emotional and physical abuses interacted with cannabis misuse to increase the frequency of psychotic features and delusional beliefs. Finally, in an independent sample of 485 euthymic patients from the FACE-BD cohort we used path-analytic models to show that emotional abuse increased all the assessed affective/impulsive dimensions (p < 0.001). In turn, affect intensity and attitudinal hostility were associated with high risk for suicide attempts (p < 0.001), whereas impulsivity was associated with a higher risk for presence of substance misuse (p < 0.001). These results illustrate that childhood trauma might derive from parental characteristics (own childhood trauma and psychopathology) and increase the severity/complexity of BD through individual dimensions of psychopathology.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

C-reactive protein levels are related to suicidality in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S337-S337
Author(s):  
M. Pantovic Stefanovic ◽  
B. Dunjic-Kostic ◽  
M. Lackovic ◽  
A. Damjanovic ◽  
A. Jovanovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Previous History ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Course Of Illness ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
History Of ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionImmune alterations are believed to be an important part in etiopathogenesis of affective disorders. However, it is not clear if the altered immune mediators are related to distinct disorders or particular psychopathology.AimsThe aim of our study was to explore the differences in C-reactive protein levels (CRP) between euthymic BD patients and healthy controls, as well as to explore the relationship between CRP and lifetime presented psychopathology within BD.MethodsThe study group consisted of 83 patients diagnosed with BD, compared to the healthy control group (n = 73) and matched according to age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Lifetime psychopathology has been assessed according to predominant polarity as well as previous history of suicide attempts and psychotic episodes.ResultsThe CRP levels were significantly higher in BD patients when compared to healthy controls. After covarying for confounders, we observed that CRP levels, in euthymic BD patients, were related to number of previous suicide attempts, but not other indicators of lifetime psychopathology.ConclusionsBD patients per se, and particularly those with more suicide attempts, are more likely to present with proinflammatory state, even when in remission. Previous history of suicide attempts could bear specifically vulnerable endophenotype within BD. Systemic, longitudinal monitoring of the course of illness, and potential inflammatory mediators that underlie its systemic nature is warranted.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Care Programme Approach – documentation of past risk-related behaviour

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 298-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Dick ◽  
Tessa Durham ◽  
Mitchell Stewart ◽  
Scott Kane ◽  
Jim Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Risk Category ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Care Programme ◽  
Related Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
History Of Violence

Aims and MethodThe aim of the study was to assess the practicality of extracting past risk-related information from case records and to assess how this process might be cost-effectively incorporated in routine practice. Case records of 43 patients referred to the Care Programme Approach in Dundee were examined.ResultsOur study yielded relevant information – 39% of patients had a history of violence, 58% of self-harm or suicide, 58% of severe self-neglect and 72% of non-compliance with medication. However, it took an average of 5 hours to conduct a thorough review of each case because the notes were bulky and poorly organised.Clinical ImplicationsRetrospective review of conventional case records in routine practice is likely to be incomplete and misleading. Prospective recording should be practicable if used selectively, but requires a standardised approach to clinical recording and case note maintenance. The risk recording system we developed, incorporating a dated index of incidents by risk category, followed by brief summaries of each incident, provides key clinical information not available from a simple check list while not sacrificing brevity.

Temperament traits in male suicide attempters and violent offenders

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 278-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Engström ◽  
B. Persson ◽  
S. Levander
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Violent Offenders ◽  
Indirect Aggression ◽  
Normal Range ◽  
Suicide Attempters ◽  
Male Suicide ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Trait ◽  
Temperament Traits ◽  
High Trait Anxiety

SummaryWith the purpose of comparing temperament traits in subjects who have been violent towards others and with subjects who have shown self-directed violence, 34 male suicide attempters and 34 male violent offenders were matched for age and psychiatric diagnosis. Violent offenders with a history of suicide attempts were excluded. Temperament traits were assessed by means of the Karolinska Scales of Personality.The temperament profiles of suicide attempters and violent offenders were very similar, with high trait anxiety and very low socialization. Violent offenders displayed significantly higher social desirability (P < 0.001). Suicide attempters tended to have higher indirect aggression and monotony avoidance. Impulsiveness, verbal aggression, and inhibition of aggression were within the normal range in both groups. There were substantial temperamental similarities between suicide attempters and violent offenders. In order to disentangle the differential mechanisms behind aggression towards self and others, we probably need to consider historical as well as current situation factors in a systematic way.

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