Assessment of suicide risk 24 hours after psychiatric hospital admission.

Of 69 patients admitted to a hospital because of suicide risk, 30 (44 percent) were completely free of suicidal ideation 24 hours after admission. Scores on the Scale for Suicide Ideation at the time of admission distinguished patients who continued to have suicidal ideation 24 hours later (the sustained-ideation group) from those who did not (the transient-ideation group). Patients in the transient group were more likely than those in the sustained group to have made a suicide attempt during the week before admission. At admission patients in the sustained group were more likely to have psychotic symptoms and to report a family history of psychiatric illness.