• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.8-19
• /
• 2020

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine whether the MMPI-2-RF serves as a useful tool to differentiate between the subtypes of high risk of suicide among psychiatric outpatients. Methods : Patients were recruited from the department of psychiatry of university hospital. Participants were diagnosed using DSM-5 criteria by board certified psychiatrists. Their medical records were reviewed retrospectively. And participants were put into 4 groups (Suicide ideation, Suicide attempt, Non-suicidal self-injury, and general psychiatric diagnosis as a control group). For statistical comparison, the MANCOVA with gender as a covariate was used. Results : The results indicated that as previous research with non-clinical sample suggested, psychiatric outpatients with high suicide risk also have significantly higher Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction, Helplessness/Hopelessness, Suicidal/Death Ideation, Demoralization, Cognitive complaints, Cynicism, Dysfunctional negative thoughts than general psychiatric patients group. But group differences within the high suicide risk patients have not been observed. However, suicide attempt group and NSSI group has higher Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction, RC4, AGG than general psychiatric patients group. But there was no difference between suicidal idea group and general psychiatric patients group. Conclusions : There was no group difference observed between all three subtypes, which mean the MMPI2-RF may not be the useful diagnostic tool to navigate high suicide risk subtypes. Even though there was no difference observed in the suicide ideation group, suicide attempt group and NSSI group have higher aggression and externalization. So those indexes could serve as a useful marker to investigate riskiness of suicide related symptoms.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.30-38
• /
• 2024

Background: Although Korea ranks first in the suicide rate of elderly individuals, there is limited research on those who attempt suicide, with preventive measures largely based on population-based studies. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of elderly individuals who attempted suicide with those of younger adults who visited the emergency department after suicide attempts and identified the factors associated with lethality in the former group. Methods: Individuals who visited the emergency department after a suicide attempt from April 1, 2017, to January 31, 2020, were included. Participants were classified into two groups according to age (elderly, ≥65 years; adult, 18-64 years). Among the 779 adult patients, 123 were elderly. We conducted a chi-square test to compare the demographic and clinical features between these groups and a logistic regression analysis to identify the risk factors for lethality in the elderly group. Results: Most elderly participants were men, with no prior psychiatric history or suicide attempts, and had a higher prevalence of underlying medical conditions and attributed their attempts to physical illnesses. Being sober and planning suicide occurred more frequently in this group. In the elderly group, factors that increased the mortality rate were biological male sex (p<0.05), being accompanied by family members (p<0.05), and poisoning as a suicide method (p<0.01). Conclusion: Suicide attempts in elderly individuals have different characteristics from those in younger adults and are associated with physical illness. Suicides in the former group are unpredictable, deliberate, and fatal. Therefore, tailored prevention and intervention strategies addressing the characteristics of those who are elderly and attempt suicide are required.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.304-315
• /
• 2012

Today, suicide by self-poisoning of prescribed or non-prescribed drugs on purpose has been increasing and is a major cause of mortality. It is very important to treat promptly and properly for saving the lives from those suicides. There is neither an organization such as poison control center nor measurement in S. Korea, though. The object of this study was to evaluate information of frequently used substances for suicide attempt in S. Korea. Our results also can provide healthcare provider including pharmacists and doctors, etc and contribute to increasing health and welfare for Korean. From June $1^{st}$ 2006 to April $30^{th}$ 2012, we retrospectively studied patients visiting emergency room due to suicide attempt. We collected information of underlying disease, history of past medical condition and suicide attempt, ingredient and getting route of ingesting substances, emergency treatment, and outcome by reviewing electronic medical record. We also evaluated actual treatment of self-poisoning and made guide information about antidote medication for S. Korean healthcare provider. Among total 242 cases of suicidal attempts, cases ingesting substances including prescription, non-prescription drugs and agricultural chemicals were 86.4%. The most frequently used drugs for suicide attempt were sedatives-hypnotics (53.6%), followed by analgesics (16.7%) and antidepressants (12.4%). Analgesics including acetaminophen and aspirin were most in teenagers but sedatives-hypnotics including benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine (zolpidem) and antihistamine were most in other ages including elderly people. Most frequently used antidote was activated charcoal (62.7%) and specific antidotes for some substances (acetaminophen, aspirin, agricultural chemicals) were also treated properly, accompanying with medication for supportive care. In conclusion, the most used substances for suicide attempt were sedatives-hypnotics and treatments for self-poisoning in emergency room were appropriate based on existing references. Therefore, information of frequently used substances and antidote reflecting these results will be useful for South Korean healthcare provider.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.85-89
• /
• 1995

The early esophgeal carcinoma is limited to the mucosa or submucosa without lymph node metastsis which shows good 5-years survival rate. It is nearly 85-90% nowadays,if we just find and manage it.It is really helpful to use the endoscope in management and diagnosis, in addition the biopsy under the endoscopic finding.We experienced one case of early esophageal carcinoma. The patient was 57years old female,who ingested lye 27years ago for suicidal attempt, after 10years, the dysphagia was aggravated slowly. Before admission dysphagia was severely aggravated during 2months. Confirmation of diagnosis was made by endoscopic biopsy.Operation method was substernal colon bypass and total esophagectomy through right thoracotomy. Postoperative course was smooth.We report early esophgeal carcinoma related to lye stricture that was detected by the method of endoscopic examination and biopsy. It is important to screen the patients with longstanding history of benign esophageal stricture by the endoscopic biopsy.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.60-63
• /
• 2019

The rate of suicide is the 5th leading cause of death in Korea. Moreover, suicide is the 1st cause of death in from 2nd to 4th decade. In order to treat suicide attempters who have visited the emergency room and to prevent retries, it is necessary to understand the nature of the suicide and to take the right approach. Suicide is more than doubled in women, and retry rates are high among patients with a history of suicide. Suicidal means are throat, fall, gas poisoning, poisoning and drowning. All suicide attempters should suspect and treat cervical spine injury and airway management, and rapid hyperbaric oxygen therapy is recommended for carbon monoxide addicts. Interviewing a suicide attempter requires a sympathetic attitude and examines the underlying depression or adaptation disorders. Interdisciplinary care with mental health departments is necessary, and interventions in emergency roombased suicide attempt management work can be helpful to connect with the community.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.44-46
• /
• 2009

Herein, we report a case of emergency cesarean section after severe maternal drug intoxication in late pregnancy. At a 38-week-gestation, a 32-year-old woman with a 10-year history of bipolar disorder took olanzapine (200 mg), diazepam (20 mg), and zolpidem (200 mg) as part of a suicidal attempt. Given her unconscious state and the evident concern regarding the toxic effects of the drugs on the fetus, a cesarean section was performed immediately. The patient gave birth to a male baby with Apgar scores of 5 at 1 and 8 at 5 minutes. The baby showed dyspnea and decreased activity directly after birth. After supportive care, the condition of both mother and baby improved and both were discharged.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.15 no.7
• /
• pp.4157-4164
• /
• 2014

Aim: This study examined the correlation study of spiritual well-being, self-control, organizational commitment for the prevention of suicidal attempts by Korean soldiers. Methods: This study was non-experimental survey research design through a questionnaire containing 3 categories, spiritual well-being, self-control, organizational commitment with 599 subjects in the military in Korea. The data collected from the 1st to 28th of December, 2013, analyzed t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient using the SPSS 18.0 program. Results: Spiritual well-being and self-control have a positive correlation with organizational commitment on object. Conclusion: To increase the organizational commitment of soldiers in the military, the importance of the spiritual well-being should be recognized as a health problem. In addition, it is also important to develop an educational program for achieving spiritual well-being, self-control on soldiers. This should make a healthier life for soldiers and contribute to society.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.10-18
• /
• 2013

The increasing suicide rate is a serious problem in Korea. Because of increased awareness of suicidality as a problem and because completed suicide is the fourth leading cause of death, it is very important to assess the risk of suicide. The purpose of this review is to provide a systematic examination of predictive validity of measures of suicidal ideation and behavior. A number of instruments are described as useful for identifying individuals "at high risk" for suicidal behavior. However, the predictive validity for most suicide measures has not been established. The present review only includes suicide assessment instruments with published predictive validity. In addition to evaluating the suicide assessment with respect to predictive validity, the present review describes and summarizes the psychometric properties of each measure. In conclusion, because of the complexity of studying the risk of suicide and the paucity of well-designed studies, it is extremely difficult to compare and generalize these findings. In addition, only a few instruments, such as the Scale for Suicide Ideation, Suicide Intent Scale and the Beck Hopelessness Scale, have been found to be significant risk factors for completed suicide. Another problem in the field involves that there have been few suicide measures designed for elderly populations. Clearly, future research is needed to investigate the predictive validity of standardized measures for completed suicide, especially targeting elderly populations.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.250-255
• /
• 2020

Background Rosenthal et al. classified female, habitual, non-suicidal wrist cutters as a group and introduced the concept of wrist-cutting syndrome. We investigated the characteristics of wrist-cutting patients at our institution in comparison with results reported previously. Methods We conducted a retrospective study involving 115 patients who had cut their wrists and been examined at the emergency department of a single hospital in Seoul, Korea, between March 2014 and August 2018. Results There were more women (73 patients; 63.5%) than men (42 patients; 36.5%), and the women (mean age, 34.42 years) were significantly younger than the men (mean age, 50.07 years). The patients who had cut their wrists repeatedly were mainly women (22 of 26 patients; 84.6%); however, men caused more severe damage than women. Substance use before a suicide attempt did not significantly increase the severity of wrist cutting. Our institution planned and implemented a suicide prevention intervention program to improve the continuity of outpatient care. The number of patients who continued psychiatric treatment increased significantly after program completion. Conclusions We confirmed that most patients were young women who were not suicidal in the true sense because their wounds were not severe. Our study showed a protective role of the barrier tendons (flexor carpi radialis, palmaris longus, flexor carpi ulnaris), and we suggest careful repair of the barrier tendons to protect neurovascular structures against subsequent cutting events. We found that it was possible to improve the continuity of patient counseling by managing patients through a psychiatric treatment program.

• Anxiety and mood
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.41-49
• /
• 2012

Introduction : Suicide in Korea has increased to 31.2 persons per 100,000 population, the world's highest level. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the world, but in Korea, it is 4th leading cause of death. Therefore suicide is a serious problem in Korea. Many suicide prevention strategies have been proposed. Despite efforts to prevent suicides in Korea, a steady increases in the number of suicides has been brought into question the effectiveness of suicide prevention activities in Korea. Methods : Strategy of restricting suicide methods in many countries was reviewed. Systematic approach to restrict suicidal methods in Korea is proposed. Results : Restricting suicide methods is one of the effective suicide prevention strategies employed in the UK and other countries. Since many suicides occur impulsively, suicide attempt lethality is an important factor in determining the rate of deaths in suicidal attempts. Physical restriction of suicide methods is important in preventing suicide, but restriction of cognitive access to information about suicide and suicide method is more important in preventing suicide. In particular hanging is one of the most common methods of suicides in Korea, it is crucial to develop strategies to prevent suicide by hanging cognitively. Also information about suicide should be properly controlled. To do this, suicide news reporting guidelines should be observed, and website makers whose websites provoke thoughts about suicide should be more strictly sanctioned. Conclusion : Restricting suicide methods along with other suicide prevention plans may be the most effective way to prevent suicide in Korea.