Effectiveness of a French Program to Prevent Suicide Reattempt (VigilanS)

Telephone Assessment of Suicidal Risk at Prehospital Emergency Medical Services: A Direct Comparison with Face-to-Face Evaluation at Psychiatric Emergency Service

OBJECTIVE

Assessment of suicidal risk is one of the most challenging tasks faced by health professionals, notably in emergency care. We compared telephone suicide risk assessment at prehospital Emergency Medical Services Dispatch Center (EMS-DC), with subsequent face-to-face evaluation at Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES), using French national Risk-Urgency-Danger standards (RUD).

METHOD

Data were collected for all suicidal adult patients (N = 80) who were addressed by EMS-DC to PES between December 2018 and August 2019 and benefited from RUD assessment at both services. Suicidal risk was given a score of 1, 2, 3 or 4, in order of severity.

RESULTS

Mean of the differences between the RUD score at EMS-DC and PES was -0.825 (SD = 1.19), and was found to be significant (p < 0.01). The average time between RUD assessments was 420 min (SD = 448) and was negatively correlated with the difference in the RUD score (r = -0.295, p = 0.008). Associated suicide attempt increased the odds of a decrease in the RUD score (OR = 2.989; 95% CI = 1.141-8.069; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Telephone evaluation of suicidal risk using RUD at EMS-DC yielded moderately higher scores than those obtained by a subsequent face-to face evaluation at PES, with this difference partially explained by the time between assessments, and by clinical and contextual factors.

Telephone-Delivered Interventions for Suicide Prevention in Schizophrenia and Related Disorders: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Suicide is a health problem among patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Telehealth technology has become an emerging intervention that may offer opportunities to reach this at-risk group. However, to consider the implementation of telehealth systems in the prevention of suicidal behaviors in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, a review of the evidence is required. The present aim was to explore the effectiveness of telephone-based suicide prevention programs among patients with schizophrenia and related disorders.

METHODS

A bibliographic search was carried out in the PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science electronic databases following PRISMA guidelines. Two reviewers performed the selection, data extraction and methodological quality assessment. A total of 352 articles were retrieved, of which five studies met the eligibility criteria.

RESULTS

Globally, an adherence was observed ranging from 78 to 100%. Three studies reported a reduction in suicidal ideation and two studies showed a reduction in the risk of relapse observed in the intervention group compared to a control group.

CONCLUSIONS

In accordance with the limited data available, the use of a telephone contact approach appears to be feasible and effective in schizophrenia patients with suicidal behaviors. The preliminary evidence also suggests that this system appears to reduce suicidal ideation. Further research is required to design evidence-based future interventions and to determine whether this approach can improve patient outcomes.

The association between reattempted suicide and incoming calls to the brief contact intervention service, VigilanS: a study of the clinical profile of callers

BACKGROUND

Suicide is a major health problem globally. As attempted suicide is a major risk factor for suicide, specific prevention strategies have been designed for use thereafter. An example is the brief contact intervention (BCI). In this regard, France employs a composite BCI, VigilanS, which utilizes three types of contact: phone calls, postcards and a 'who to contact in a crisis' card. Previous studies have found that this system is effective at preventing suicide. Nevertheless, VigilanS was not effective in the same way for all the patients included. This observation raises the question of specific adaptation during follow-up for populations that were less receptive to the service. In consideration of this issue, we identified one study which found that incoming calls to the service were linked with a higher risk of suicide reattempts. However, this study did not document the profiles of the patients who made these calls. Better understanding of why this population is more at risk is important in terms of identifying factors that could be targeted to improve follow-up. This research therefore aims to bring together such data.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of 579 patients referred to VigilanS by Toulouse University Hospital (France). We examined the sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, and follow-ups in place and compared the patients who made incoming calls to the service versus those who did not. Subsequently, we conducted a regression analysis using the significantly associated element of patients calling VigilanS. Then, in order to better understand this association, we analyzed the factors, including such calls, that were linked to the risk of suicide reattempts.

RESULTS

We found that 22% of the patients in our sample called the VigilanS service. These individuals: were older, at 41.4 years versus 37.9 years for the non-callers; were more likely to have a borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis (28.9% versus 19.3%); and had a history of suicide attempts (71.9% versus 54.6%). Our analysis confirmed that incoming calls to VigilanS (OR = 2.9) were associated with reattempted suicide, as were BPD (OR = 1.8) and a history of suicide attempts (OR = 1.7).

CONCLUSION

There was a high risk that the patients calling VigilanS would make another suicide attempt. However, this association was present regardless of the clinical profile. We postulate that this link between incoming calls and reattempted suicide may arise because this form of contact is, in fact, a way in which patients signal that a further attempt will be made.

Early psychiatric referral after attempted suicide helps prevent suicide reattempts: A longitudinal national cohort study in South Korea

INTRODUCTION

Although people who attempted suicide tend to repeat suicide attempts, there is a lack of evidence on the association between psychiatric service factors and suicide reattempt among them.

METHODS

We used a nationwide, population-based medical record database of South Korea to investigate the use of psychiatric services before and after the index suicide attempt and the association between psychiatric service factors after the index suicide attempt with the risk of suicide reattempt.

RESULTS

Among 5,874 people who had attempted suicide, the all-cause mortality within 3 months after the suicide attempt was 11.6%. Among all subjects who attempted suicide, 30.6% of them had used psychiatric services within 6 months before the suicide attempt; 43.7% of them had used psychiatric services within 3 months after the suicide attempt. Among individuals who had visited clinics following attempted suicide, the cumulative incidence of suicide reattempt over a mean follow-up period of 5.1 years was 3.4%. About half of suicide reattempts occurred within 1 year after the index suicide attempt. Referral to psychiatric services within 7 days was associated with a decreased risk of suicide reattempt (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence intervals, 0.29-0.89).

CONCLUSION

An early psychiatric referral within 1 week after a suicide attempt was associated with a decreased risk of suicide reattempt.

Investigating Predictive Factors of Suicidal Re-attempts in Adolescents and Young Adults After a First Suicide Attempt, a Prospective Cohort Study. Study Protocol of the SURAYA Project

INTRODUCTION

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in youth. Previous suicide attempts are among the strongest predictors of future suicide re-attempt. However, the lack of data and understanding of suicidal re-attempt behaviors in this population makes suicide risk assessment complex and challenging in clinical practice. The primary objective of this study is to determine the rate of suicide re-attempts in youth admitted to the emergency department after a first suicide attempt. The secondary objectives are to explore the clinical, socio-demographic, and biological risk factors that may be associated with re-attempted suicide in adolescents and young adults.

METHODS

We have developed a single-center prospective and naturalistic study that will follow a cohort of 200 young people aged 16 to 25 years admitted for a first suicide attempt to the emergency department of Lyon, France. The primary outcome measure will be the incidence rate of new suicide attempts during 3 months of follow-up. Secondary outcomes to investigate predictors of suicide attempts will include several socio-demographic, clinical and biological assessments: blood and hair cortisol levels, plasma pro- and mature Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) isoforms proportion, previous infection with toxoplasma gondii, and C-Reactive Protein (CRP), orosomucoid, fibrinogen, interleukin (IL)-6 inflammatory markers.

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, the present study is the first prospective study specifically designed to assess the risk of re-attempting suicide and to investigate the multidimensional predictive factors associated with re-attempting suicide in youth after a first suicide attempt. The results of this study will provide a unique opportunity to better understand whether youth are an at-risk group for suicide re-attempts, and will help us identify predictive factors of suicide re-attempt risk that could be translated into clinical settings to improve psychiatric care in this population.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03538197, first registered on 05/29/2018. The first patient was enrolled 05/22/2018.

Psychological state of a sample of patients with mood disorders during the first French COVID-19 lockdown

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, evidence shows the negative psychological impact of lockdown measures in the general population. It is also important to identify predictors of psychological distress in vulnerable people, particularly patients with history of depressive episodes (the most prevalent psychiatric disorder), in order to adapt mental health strategies for future lockdown measures. This study aim was to (1) compare in 69 healthy controls (HC) and 346 patients with a major depressive episode in the two previous years (PP) self-reported psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, insomnia, suicidal ideation, traumatic stress, anger) and living conditions during the first national French lockdown, and (2) identify predictors of significant psychological distress in PP. The levels of psychological symptoms were very low in HC compared with PP, independently of the living conditions. Half of PP had no psychiatric contact during the lockdown. Loneliness and boredom were independent predictors of depression, anxiety and insomnia, whereas daily physical activity was a protective factor. Virtual contacts protected against suicidal ideation. Our results highlight the need of specific strategies to target loneliness and boredom and to improve care access, including telepsychiatry. Longitudinal studies must investigate the COVID-19 pandemic psychological impact in clinical samples.

Effectiveness of a telephone prevention programme on the recurrence of suicidal behaviour. One-year follow-up

People who have attempted suicide are considered a risk population for repeating the behaviour. Therapeutic interventions, such as telephone follow-up programmes (TFPs), are promising but more evidence for its efficacy is needed. In this multicentre, open, ex-post-facto, pre/post, one year prospective study, a previous cohort discharged from the emergency department for a suicide attempt (SA) and given routine treatment (n=207) was compared with a similar group who received the same intervention plus a structured TFP of six calls (n=203). At one year of follow-up, the efficacy of the TFP at preventing SA was assessed. A total of 53.2% (n=108) of the patients finished the TFP. A total of 20.3% (n=42) of the routine treatment group and 23.6% (n=48) of the TFP group re-attempted at least once in the follow-up period (χ²=0.7;df=1;p=.412). However, in both groups, different subsamples of patients who presented extreme risk of SA at follow-up (0-57%) were identified. In the TFP group, the recurrence of suicidal behaviour was lower in patients admitted after the index attempt and in those who had more severe psychopathological symptoms, but not in the other profiles. Thus, this study has identified a specific profile of patients who could benefit from a brief-contact intervention.

Suicide mortality in people with mental disorders: a register-based study in north France

INTRODUCTION

Suicide is very common among people with mental disorders. In addition, suicide mortality rates are stable in this group, while they are decreasing in the general population.

METHODS

The vital statuses of adult inpatients admitted to French psychiatry departments in 2008-2009 were researched in death databases on 31 December 2013. Suicide probability was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier analysis, and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated in relation to the population of the study area.

RESULTS

Among the 13,979 patients included in the study, (7416 men and 6563 women; mean age 43.6 ± 14.6 years), 1454 died in total, among whom 286 died by suicide an average of 4.9 years after the date of their enrolment. The cumulative probability of suicide was 0.8% at 1 year, 1.3% at 2 years and 2.5% at 6 years. The SMR value, which was 1492 for the whole group of patients and was twice as high in women (2494) as in men (1220), decreased with age (from 2078 in patients aged 18-34 years to 1278 in patients aged 75 years or more).

DISCUSSION

Our study confirms that suicide mortality is higher in inpatients admitted to French psychiatry units than in the general population and advocates specific prevention programmes for this group.