Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35395936›Full record

ArticleInjury epidemiology2022

Pediatric suicide by violent means: a cry for help and a call for action.

Christina M Theodorou, Kaeli J Yamashiro, Sarah C Stokes, Edgardo S Salcedo, Shinjiro Hirose, Alana L Beres

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Injury epidemiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Systems-based care of the injured child: Technical report.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Christina M TheodorouDivision of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Room 5107, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA. ctheodorou@ucdavis.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0365-3053
Kaeli J YamashiroDivision of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Room 5107, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
Sarah C StokesDivision of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Room 5107, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
Edgardo S SalcedoDivision of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Shinjiro HiroseDivision of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Room 5107, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
Alana L BeresDivision of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Room 5107, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
University of California Davis Medical Center · US

Funding

UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science CenterUL1TR001860 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI KENYON, NICHOLAS J., LYLES, COURTNEY REES · 2016 to 2025
$47.3M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001860NIH HHS UL1 TR001860
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSuicide is the second most common cause of death among adolescents and young adults. In the pediatric population, gunshot wounds (GSWs) and hangings are common mechanisms of pediatric suicide. Comorbid psychiatric illness is prevalent in this population, but psychiatric resource utilization after self-inflicted traumatic injury is not well characterized.

methodsWe analyzed patients < 18 years old presenting to a level 1 pediatric trauma center after suicide attempt by GSW, hanging, or jumping from a height from 2009 to 2019. The primary outcome was psychiatric resource utilization. Secondary outcomes included prior emergency department (ED) visits to identify prior opportunities for intervention.

resultsOf 6538 pediatric trauma patients, there were 219 GSWs, 7 hangings, and 7 jumps from height, for a total of 233 patients. Of these, 14 presented following a suicide attempt (four GSWs, six hangings, and four jumps, total 6.0%). Half of these patients died due to their injuries. Self-inflicted GSWs had the highest mortality (75%). Most surviving patients were placed on involuntary psychiatric holds (n = 5/7, 71.4%), and three patients were discharged to an inpatient psychiatric hospital (n = 3/7, 42.9%). Five of the 14 patients had prior ED visits (35.7%), and of these, 60% were for suicidal ideation or suicide attempts.

conclusionsAmong pediatric trauma patients, suicide attempts are rare, but are highly lethal, with the highest mortality rate seen in self-inflicted GSWs. Psychiatric resource utilization is high both during and after the hospitalization. Prior ED visits may represent opportunities for depression and suicidality screening in this at-risk population.

Indexed as

Firearm safetyPediatric suicidePediatric traumaPsychiatric illness

Identifiers

PMID35395936
PMCPMC8991570
OpenAlexW4223422614

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.