Patient assessment following substance overdose: Can we predict memory of the psychiatric interview?

Abstract

Suicide is a major public health issue, and a critical step in its prevention is a psychiatric assessment of individuals following suicide attempts (NICE 2008). In cases where patients attempt suicide through substance overdose, the central nervous system and consciousness are altered in significant ways. This is problematic, given that patients must have recovered sufficient cognitive capacity if a psychiatric assessment is to yield a meaningful and suitable care plan that the patient will recall and follow (Lukens 2006). Currently, there is no validated tool to assess whether sufficient cognitive recovery has occurred in such patients to ensure their memory of the assessment. Therefore, our goal was to identify indicators that predict preserved memory of undergoing a psychiatric assessment. We carried out a prospective study with 41 patients recruited from an emergency department. We collected data on cognitive tests (including WAIS coding test), memory self-assessment, plasma benzodiazepine levels, age, gender, and educational level at the time of psychiatric assessment. We then assessed patients’ memory for undergoing a psychiatric interview 24 hours post-assessment, using an episodic memory score. Whereas memory self-assessment did not predict the episodic memory score, age, plasma benzodiazepine level, and cognitive test scores significantly influenced it, predicting 70% of memory score variation. Among these factors, the WAIS coding test predicted 57% of the memory score variation. To improve clinical practice, it may be useful to assess visual scanning, processing speed, and attentional function prior to psychiatric interview to ensure later patient recall.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.