Self-poisoning with medications in adolescents: a national register study of hospital admissions and readmissions

Résumé

textbfOBJECTIVE: To examine characteristics of hospital admissions and risk factors associated with rehospitalization for self-poisoning with medications in adolescents aged 10-19 years. textbfMETHOD: This study used data from the Norwegian Patient Register from 2008 to 2011. The main outcome was hospital readmission within the observation period. A complementary log-log regression model was used to assess the effect of characteristics at index hospital admission on readmission. textbfRESULTS: Of 1497 patients, 76.4% were females and 89.8% were aged 15-19 years. At their first hospital admission, about one third received a secondary psychiatric diagnosis. Females (47.5%) were registered with an E-code for intentional self-harm more often than males (33.7%), and females were more often than males discharged to further treatment (27.8% vs. 21.5%). As many as 18.4% were rehospitalized for self-poisoning by medications. Significant predictors for hospital readmission were female sex, discharge to further treatment and psychiatric secondary diagnoses. textbfCONCLUSION: This national study demonstrated significant sex differences in adolescents treated in hospital for self-poisoning with medications. Psychiatric secondary diagnoses had a strong predictive effect on readmission, which indicates the importance of psychiatric/psychosocial assessment of adolescents who are admitted to hospital for self-poisoning with medications. NORVÈGE EUROPE GENRE HOMME FEMME ADOLESCENT TENTATIVE EMPOISONNEMENT MÉDICAMENT INTOXICATION