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The following is a summary of “Self-harm presentations to hospital trauma centre emergency departments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic,” published in the June 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Gordon et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study analyzing characteristics and counts of ED visits for self-harm between the pandemic’s first year (March 2020 – February 2021) and the following year compared to pre-pandemic times, which included examining patient demographics, injury details, and factors associated with self-harm presentations.

They studied data from 2 trauma centers in Toronto, Canada, comparing self-harm presentations (March 2019 to February 2021). Time series models assessed self-harm counts during the intra-pandemic period against predictions based on pre-pandemic data. Patient and injury characteristics charts were compared retrospectively before and during the pandemic.

The results showed that monthly counts of self-harm presentations during the pandemic were generally as expected but showed an increased proportion of total ED visits. Factors like being widowed (OR=9.46, 95% CI: 1.10-81.08), economic stressors (1.65, 95% CI: 1.06-2.58) (such as job loss [3.83, 95% CI: 1.36-10.76] and financial strain), and specific types of self-harm (like chest-stabbing [2.50, 95% CI: 1.16-5.39]) were associated with intra-pandemic presentations. Additionally, intra-pandemic self-harm cases were more likely to require ICU admission (2.18, 95% CI: 1.41-3.38), indicating more severe injuries.

Investigators concluded that while the total number of self-harm cases at the trauma centers did not rise in the early pandemic, the proportion of ED visits increased. Factors linked to severe injury, economic challenges, and widowhood during the pandemic suggest areas for targeted suicide and self-harm prevention efforts in the future.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016517812400177X