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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE. Suicide and self-destructive behaviors are not only health problems but are also related to social and personal aspects. Public health and community action can play an important role in increasing survival among those at risk. We present the results of a program based on health education among the general population and in a specific health care setting to monitor the at risk population. SUBJECTS AND METHOD. The Suicide Behavior Prevention Program (SBPP) developed in the Dreta de l’Eixample district in Barcelona city included 219 patients, 148 (67.5%) of whom completed a 12-month follow-up. We selected a comparison group from a neighboring district that did not have a SBPP. This group was made up of 180 patients, 167 of whom completed the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS. Main differences between the two groups were that patients who were enrolled in the SBPP consulted more often for suicidal thoughts than those in the comparative group (36% vs 25%), had fewer hospital admissions (6% vs 36%), presented fewer repeated suicide attempts over the 12- month follow-up (11% vs 32%) and showed longer time to repeat attempt. CONCLUSIONS. Early detection of suicidal ideation and adherence to post-suicide attempt treatment reduce the risk of recurrent suicide attempts. Further studies with longer follow up may help to reduce suicide mortality. Key words (MEDLINE MeSH): Suicide, “Suicide, attempted”, Risk reduction behavior, Health education, Follow-up studies, “Outcome assessment (Health care)”

Introduction: Psychomotor agitation is a common event in psychiatric emergency services (PES) with a prevalence of approximately 10 %. There is no general consensus on to how to manage psychomotor agitation; benzodiazepines, typical antipsychotics and now atypical antipsychotics have demonstrated similar efficacy. The aim of our study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical management of agitation in "real-life" in a psychiatric emergency service., Methods: A naturalistic study was performed in acutely agitated patients recruited consecutively in a psychiatric emergency service. Demographics, clinical and therapeutic characteristics were analyzed. Efficacy was assessed by the Excitement Component of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-EC) and the Agitation-Calmness Evaluation Scale (ACES). Pragmatic variables such as the need for second pharmacological intervention and the need for physical restraints were assessed., Results: The study included 100 patients with psychomotor agitation. Mean age was 36.2 % and 54% were women. The most prevalent diagnoses were psychotic disorder (48 %) and personality disorder (24 %). Physical restraint was required in 39 % of patients and 52 % accepted oral treatment. Haloperidol was the most frequent oral treatment and olanzapine was the most frequent intramuscular treatment., Conclusions: A naturalistic approach provides data based on clinical reality in psychiatric emergency services. Strict research designs of clinical trials of efficacy imply sample selection biases and are generally distanced from the clinical reality. Atypical antipsychotics have become the first-line treatment in acute agitation