title: [Paraplegia after suicidal attempt].
abstract: For the first time in Switzerland, patients were followed up who had become paraplegic after a suicidal attempt, and who had to spend a certain time in a center for paraplegics (corresponding to 3 % of all traumatically induced cases of myeloparalysis). Records and catamnestic data of patients with paraplegia after suicidal attempt during the years 1982 - 1996 (n = 38)--all being or having been patients of the centers for paraplegics f Basel and Nottwil (canton of Lucerne)--were evaluated. Catamnestic investigations performed from one month to 14 years after the suicidal attempt, based on a structured dialogue with a standardized, computerized questionnaire, led, among others, to the following conclusions: The average age of these patients (20 males and 18 females) was 38 years. The most frequently encountered suicidal method, leading to the paraplegic lesion, was a fall from a window of a building (89,6 %). In 55 % of the cases, psychiatric disease, especially depression, alcohol and drug dependence, had been diagnosed prior to the suicidal attempt. 37 % of patients hat attempted suicide at least once before the attempt leading to the paraplegic condition. 34 % had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons on an earlier occasion. In 26 %, a farewell letter was written. As far as the level of the paraplegic lesions is concerned, patients were equally distributed (50 % each) between thoracal/cervical and lumbar lesions. The associated sexual impairment was experienced by each one of the 38 patients as a most disturbing problem. Despite the limited number of cases and the partially short time interval between the suicidal attempt and the follow-up investigation, results seem to indicate that such patients are not likely to commit suicide on a later occasion. One single patient had tried to commit suicide several times after the suicidal attempt event under discussion.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haenel
authors.forename: Odette
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jehle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013557:Switzerland