Profile of patients treated for attempted suicide at a General Emergency Hospital in the state of Alagoas, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: Presenting the profile of patients treated for suicide attempts at the Oswaldo Brandão Vilela General Hospital (HGE) in the city of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. Methods: This is a documentary, descriptive, and retrospective study with a quantitative approach. The research sample was the entire universe of patients assisted and diagnosed at the HGE for suicide in the period from 2015 to 2017. Results: The sample investigated consisted of 824 users, 50.1% of the patients had the age range between 15 to 29 years and 63% are female, 82.1% used the means of poisoning, of these, 58.9% used the drug agent. Conclusion: From 2015 to 2017, the distribution of occurrences due to suicide calls increased among young people. It is inferred that actions are necessary that allow and encourage the prevention of this damage to the population.