Suicidal patients presenting to secondary and tertiary emergency departments and referral to a psychiatrist: a population-based descriptive study from Japan

Table 5 Methods of suicide and drug types used to attempt or die by suicide (N = 81)

	n (% of all patients)
Method of Suicide (not mutually exclusive categories)^a
Drug overdose	46 (57)
Stabbing	14 (17)
Hanging	6 (7)
Jumping from height	6 (7)
Pesticide poisoning	5 (6)
Immolation	3 (4)
Carbon monoxide poisoning	2 (3)
Other	1 (1)
Type of drug used to attempt or die by suicide
Prescription drugs only	39 (48)
Over the counter drugs only	6 (7)
Both prescription and over the counter drugs	1 (1)
Type of prescription drugs used to attempt or die by suicide (not mutually exclusive categories)^b
Minor tranquilizer	34 (42)
Major tranquilizer	7 (9)
Other psychoactive drug	15 (19)
Other drug	10 (12)

Methods used by patients who died by suicide (n = 7) included: hanging (n = 2), immolation (n = 2), pesticide poisoning (n = 2), and drug overdose (n = 1)
^aTwo patients used two methods (both drug overdose and stabbing)
^bOf the 40 patients who used prescription drugs to attempt suicide, 31 patients used a combination of prescription drug types listed

ISSN: 1471-244X