Comparison of the demographic and wound characteristics of non-suicidal and suicidal self-wrist cutting injuries

Patients who commit self-wrist cutting injuries (SWCIs) are a heterogeneous group composed of patients with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempt (SA). The purpose of this study was to compare the demographic features and wound characteristics of patients with NSSI and SA. A retrospective review of 300 patients who visited the emergency department (ED) for treatment of SWCIs between January 2011 and December 2015 was performed. Data collected from the electronic medical records included age, sex, the reason for SWCIs, presence of suicidal ideation, concomitant intoxication with alcohol or drugs, past psychiatric history, whether or not the patient received psychiatric counseling at the ED, the principal psychiatric diagnosis, the number and severity of external wounds, and subsequent follow-up at the psychiatric or hand surgery outpatient department (OPD). The patients were divided into the NSSI and SA groups according to the presence of suicidal ideation and other variables were compared between the two groups. There were 138 NSSI patients and 162 SA patients. The NSSI group was younger (33.9 years vs 40.9 years, P < .01), more female-dominant, and more non-compliant with psychiatric treatment than the SA group. Compared with the SA group, fewer NSSI patients had past psychiatric histories (26.1% vs 45.7%, P < .01) and more patients refused psychiatric counseling (30.4% vs 9.9%, P < .01) and follow-up at the psychiatric OPD (8.0% vs 17.3%, P < .01). In contrast, the number (P = .31) and severity (P = .051) of wounds and the rate of follow-up at the hand surgery OPD (P = .43) were not statistically different between the two groups. Although the NSSI and SA groups showed different demographic features and degrees of compliance with psychiatric treatment, wound characteristics were not different between the two groups. Therefore, hand surgeons cannot estimate patients’ suicidal intent based on wound characteristics and all patients should be advised to receive psychiatric treatment.