M. J. Chaudhary1, E. Miraflor1 1UCSF East Bay,Surgery,Oakland, CA, USA
Introduction:
Self-inflicted injury was the second leading cause of death for the 15-34 year age group in the United States for 2015, only superseded by unintentional injury. Little is understood about racial disparities following self-inflicted injury.
Methods:
This study is a single trauma center twenty-year (1998-2017) retrospective review of all patients suffering self-inflicted injury (SII). Baseline patient demographics (age, gender), injury severity scale (ISS) and mechanism of injury were evaluated by race. The primary outcomes of mortality, psychiatric hold, and discharge to legal custody were analyzed using a multiple logistic regression that included race, age, ISS, and sex.
Results:
The study sample included 440 patients (172 White, 157 Black, 56 Asian, 55 Latino). Each racial group of SII patients had similar ISS scores and a greater proportion of male subjects. Logistic regression revealed that Black and Latino patients were less likely than White and Asian patients to be placed on a psychiatric hold following SII. Asian patients were less likely to die following SII compared to other racial groups. There were no significant differences in discharge to custody following SII between racial groups.
Conclusion:
This retrospective review reveals a potential mortality disparity after SII favoring Asian patients. Furthermore, White and Asian patients suffering SII injury were maintained on a psychiatric hold more frequently than Black or Latino patients. Whether such differences in rates of psychiatric hold by racial group represent disparity in psychiatric resource allocation or simply the nature of SII by racial group merits further study.
