Mortality Following a Psychiatric Emergency Room Visit: an 18-Month Follow-Up Study

The authors’ follow-up study of 314 patients seen in a psychiatric emergency room revealed that 6% (four times as many as in the general population) of the patients had died. None of the deaths could clearly be ascribed to suicide. This finding substantiated earlier research by the authors & findings by other investigators that suicide is rarely a cause of death within a year or two following an emergency room visit, even when the reason for the visit is a suicide attempt. (8 refs.)