How Safe are Psychiatric Medications After a Voluntary Overdose?

This study assessed psychiatric medications & their potential lethality in a representative sample of 456 suicide attempts by medication overdose. The ratio between dose taken & maximum prescription dose recommended was used to evaluate the medication toxicity. The most frequently used drugs in overdose were identified & their lethality assessed. All patients who overdosed on psychiatric medications recovered well & were discharged without any sequelae. The implications of these findings are discussed. (24 refs)