Recency of Suicide Attempt, Ideation, and Reattempt in the Emergency Department: Managing Youth With a Past Attempt

Objective This study describes recency of suicide attempt (SA) and suicidal ideation (SI) at index emergency department (ED) visit and post‐ED‐discharge reattempt among pediatric patients. Methods Secondary analysis from the ED Screen for Teens at Risk for Suicide study included patients ages 12–17 who reported a past SA during screening and received a phone call 3‐month post‐ED‐discharge assessing reattempt. Logistic regressions tested past SA/SI recency as predictors of reattempt. Descriptive statistics on SA/SI recency and reattempt are provided. Results Sample included 351 patients reporting a past SA during screening (70% cisgender female, 59% White, 53% psychiatric chief complaint, mean [SD] age = 15.3 [1.5]). 17% (60/351) reattempted suicide post‐ED‐discharge. Compared to patients who attempted over a year ago, patients with recent SA within 3 months, especially 1 week before screening, had greater odds of reattempting (3 months: p