A Retrospective Analysis of Suicide Attempts Presenting to the Emergency Department

Objective: Suicide attempts remain a major public health concern worldwide and account for a substantial proportion of emergency department (ED) admissions. Emergency departments play a critical role in both the acute medical stabilization and the psychiatric assessment of patients following suicide attempts. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients presenting to a university hospital emergency department due to suicide attempts, to describe the methods used, and to assess factors associated with in-hospital outcomes. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, descriptive study included patients aged 18 years and older who presented to a university hospital emergency department due to suicide attempts between January 2020 and September 2025. Cases were identified through the hospital information system using relevant keywords and ICD diagnostic codes. Demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, educational level, and employment status), clinical characteristics (psychiatric diagnosis and family history of suicide), and attempt-related features (number of attempts and method used) were recorded. In-hospital outcomes were classified as discharge or death. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0. Continuous variables were compared using the Student’s t-test or Mann–Whitney U test, as appropriate, while categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test. A p-value