Effect of telephone follow-up on repeated suicide attempt in patients discharged from an emergency psychiatry department: a controlled study.
Attempted suicide is a major public health problem, and the efficacies of current postvention protocols vary. We evaluated the effectiveness of telephone follow-up of patients referred to an emergency psychiatric unit for attempted suicide on any further attempt/s over the following year.



In a single-center, controlled study with intent to treat, we evaluated the efficacy of a protocol of telephone follow-up of 436 patients at 8, 30, and 60 days after they were treated for attempted suicide. As controls for comparison, we evaluated patients with similar social and demographic characteristics referred to our emergency psychiatric unit in the year prior to the study who did not receive telephone follow-up after their initial hospitalization. Data were analyzed using logistic regression.



Very early telephone follow-up of our patients effectively reduced recidivism and seemed to be the only protective factor against repeated suicide attempt.



Implementing a protocol of early telephone follow-up after attempted suicide could help prevent repeated attempt/s. More controlled studies are needed to assess optimal techniques to prevent such repetition.
Department of Emergency Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.
Sophie
S
Exbrayat
Department of Emergency Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.
Clotilde
C
Coudrot
Department of Emergency Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.
Xavier
X
Gourdon
Department of Adult Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.|TAPE Laboratory, EA 7423, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France.
Aurélia
A
Gay
Department of Adult Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France. j.sevos@hotmail.fr.|TAPE Laboratory, EA 7423, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France. j.sevos@hotmail.fr.|Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Étienne, Département de Psychiatrie Adulte, Hôpital Bellevue, Pavillon 52A, 25 Boulevard Pasteur, 42055, Saint-Étienne Cedex 2, France. j.sevos@hotmail.fr.
Jessica
J
Sevos
Department of Adult Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.
Jacques
J
Pellet
Department of Public Health and Medical Information, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.
Béatrice
B
Trombert-Paviot
Department of Emergency Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.|Department of Adult Psychiatry, University Hospital, Saint-Étienne, France.|TAPE Laboratory, EA 7423, Jean Monnet University, Saint-Étienne, France.
Catherine
C
Massoubre
D000328:Adult; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D018570:Risk Assessment; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*
Emergency; Follow-up; Nurse; Phone; Suicide attempts