Potentially Lethal Suicide Attempts Using Sharp Objects during Psychotic Illness

Recent studies have reported that serious violence toward self and others is more common in the first episode of psychosis than after treatment. A recent study published in Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention examined the proportion of survivors of potentially lethal suicide attempts with sharp objects who have a diagnosis of psychotic illness, and the proportion of those patients who had never received treatment for psychosis with antipsychotic medication. The researchers conducted an audit of the medical records of patients from three major teaching hospitals in Sydney, Australia, who survived a self inflicted stab wound to the abdomen, torso, or a laceration to the neck.  Of the 95 survivors of self-inflicted wounds by cutting or stabbing who met the inclusion criteria for the study, psychotic illness was diagnosed in 46 cases (48%), of which 26 (57%) had never received treatment with antipsychotic medication and, hence, were in the first episode of psychosis. The authors conclude that psychosis is strongly associated with potentially lethal suicide attempts using sharp objects and patients who have never received treatment for psychosis appear to be at particular risk.

For the abstract