title: The role of suicide risk in the decision for psychiatric hospitalization after a suicide attempt.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Suicide prevention can be improved by knowing which variables physicians take into account when considering hospitalization or discharge of patients who have attempted suicide.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test whether suicide risk is an adequate explanatory variable for predicting admission to a psychiatric unit after a suicide attempt.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses of 840 clinical records of patients who had attempted suicide (66.3% women) at four public general hospitals in Madrid (Spain).
  
  
  RESULTS
  180 (21.4%) patients were admitted to psychiatric units. Logistic regression analyses showed that explanatory variables predicting admission were: male gender; previous psychiatric hospitalization; psychiatric disorder; not having a substance-related disorder; use of a lethal method; delay until discovery of more than one hour; previous attempts; suicidal ideation; high suicidal planning; and lack of verbalization of adequate criticism of the attempt.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suicide risk appears to be an adequate explanatory variable for predicting the decision to admit a patient to a psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt, although the introduction of other variables improves the model. These results provide additional information regarding factors involved in everyday medical practice in emergency settings.
authors: Psychiatry Department, Autónoma University of Madrid, La Princesa University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Miret
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Nuevo
authors: Consuelo
authors: C
authors: Morant
authors: Enrique
authors: E
authors: Sainz-Cortón
authors: Miguel Ángel
authors: MÁ
authors: Jiménez-Arriero
authors: Juan J
authors: JJ
authors: López-Ibor
authors: Blanca
authors: B
authors: Reneses
authors: Jerónimo
authors: J
authors: Saiz-Ruiz
authors: Enrique
authors: E
authors: Baca-García
authors: José Luis
authors: JL
authors: Ayuso-Mateos