title: [Profile of suicide attempts using intentional overdose with medicines, treated by a poison control center in Paraná State, Brazil].
abstract: This study presents the profile of suicide attempts using intentional overdose with medicines, treated at the Poison Control Center in Londrina, Paraná State, Brazil. A retrospective study of cases treated from 1997 to 2007 was performed. Suicide attempts were significant among unemployed men, housewives, and retired women, and there was an association with other substances in 51.5% of the cases, with a higher frequency among men. 51.1% of the men combined the medicine with an alcoholic beverage, while in women, 84.8% of the associations involved other medicines. The most frequent pharmacological groups were tranquilizers (25.5%), antidepressants (17%), anticonvulsants (15%), and NSAIDs (11.9%). Prescribers must evaluate patients correctly before prescribing psychoactive drugs, since this is the pharmacological group most frequently associated with suicide attempts. Awareness-raising campaigns for rational use of medicines and social programs for suicidal patients should also help decrease the frequency of such cases.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brazil. sara.sbernardes@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sara Santos
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Bernardes
authors.forename: Conceição Aparecida
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Turini
authors.forename: Tiemi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011039:Poison Control Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000506:poisoning*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs