Cocaine use disorders and suicidal ideation

The goal of this study was to determine the contribution of substance abuse to the expression of suicidal ideation in a sample of patients referred for evaluation of chemical dependency in a large urban Psychiatric Emergency Service (PES). Records from 777 consecutive patients referred to the chemical dependency service of the PES were analyzed. Of this sample, 43.7% of the patients with only a cocaine use disorder expressed suicidal ideation compared to 38% of those with both cocaine and alcohol use disorders, 24.3% with only an alcohol use disorder and 17% with other drug use disorders ( χ 2=24.768; df=3; P