The emergency physician's assessment of suicide risk in intentional self-poisoning using the modified SAD PERSONS scale versus standard psychiatric evaluation in a general hospital in South India: a cross-sectional study.
INTRODUCTION
The reliable identification, by emergency physicians, of those with intentional self-poisoning at risk of repeating attempts is crucial, particularly in countries with a shortfall of mental health professionals.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study of intentional self-poisoning in India compared an emergency physician's assessment for the need for psychiatric referral, using the modified SAD PERSONS Scale (MSPS) as an interview guide, with a standard psychiatric interview.


RESULTS
In 67 consecutive adults with intentional self-poisoning, MSPS cut-off scores of 5 or more best approximated psychiatric assessments for the need for psychiatric referral (positive likelihood ratio 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.8-10.2; negative likelihood ratio 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.8).


CONCLUSIONS
MSPS-guided emergency physicians' assessments after self-poisoning showed modest concordance with psychiatric assessments of suicide-risk. Concordance with psychiatric assessments may improve if risk factors prevalent in different settings are identified and incorporated in the MSPS.
['Chandramouleeswaran|Susmita|S|', 'Edwin|Natasha Catherine|NC|', 'Victor|Peter John|PJ|', 'Tharyan|Prathap|P|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D004632:Emergency Medical Services D005260:Female D006769:Hospitals, General D006801:Humans D007194:India D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011041:Poisoning D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D012307:Risk Factors D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity D013406:Suicide, Attempted
self-poisoning Suicide risk-assessment diagnostic odds ratio sensitivity specificity