Comparison of various factors with different methods of self-harm in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan

Objective: To compare different factors in patients harming themselves with serious methods with or without suicidal intent in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.

Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Sep 2018 to Aug 2020.

Methodology: All patients who were admitted to medical, surgical or psychiatry wards of the hospital after an episode of self-harm were included in the study. Detailed history and mental state examination were carried out on all the patients by a consultant psychiatrist or post-graduate trainee in psychiatry. Methods of self-harm were assessed in all the patients, and relevant socio-demographic factors were studied.

Results: Out of 350 patients who were admitted with self-harm in the hospital during the study period and consented to be included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups for comparison: 189(54%) did not use any serious methods, while 161(46%) used serious methods and expressed an intent to end their lives. Cutting (80 patients, 22.8%) was the most common method of self-harm among patients included in the study, followed by overdose of prescribed medication (59 patients, 16.8%). The presence of major mental illness and substance use were found statistically significantly more in patients who used serious methods of self-harm and intent to end their lives (p-value<0.05).

Conclusion: Cutting an overdose of prescribed medication emerged as the most common method of self-harm in our data set. A considerable number of patients harmed themselves with the intent to die and also used serious methods