Management of the suicidal adolescent on a nonpsychiatric adolescent unit.

Suicide attempts by adolescents far outnumber suicide fatalities, yet there is lack of agreement regarding the optimal approach to their immediate care. Since 1968, we have admitted all such patients to a general adolescent in-patient unit. A review of the first 100 admissions of adolescents who had attempted suicide was undertaken to determine the safety, economy, and efficacy of this practice. During an average six-day hospitalization, 12 patients required constant nursing observation for more than one day, and six received tranquilizers. No major disruption on the unit, suicide attempts, or self-abusive acts occurred. Twelve patients required subsequent transfer to in-patient psychiatric facilities because of on-going suicidal ideation or psychosis or both. Hospitalization on a general unit for adolescent survivors of suicide attempts is safe, usually adds minimal cost to ordinary hospital care, permits meticulous medical attention for poisoning, and provides a stabilizing influence following a major life crisis.     

Vitamin D-resistant rickets associated with epidermal nevus syndrome: demonstration of a phosphaturic substance in the dermal lesions.

A 5-year-old boy was found to have severe rickets in association with hyperpigmented, linear, verrucous, epidermal tumors, typical of the epidermal nevus syndrome. Normocalcemia (9.6 mg/dl), hypophosphatemia (2.0 mg/dl), elevated serum alkaline phosphatase concentration (313 IU), decreased renal tubular reabsorption of phosphorus (35%), radiologic evidence of rickets, and lack of response to usual therapeutic doses of vitamin D suggested hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets. Therapy with vitamin D in doses to 750,000 IU and oral phosphate, 2.0 gm/day, failed to induce healing of the rickets. A subtotal parathyroidectomy performed when the patient was 9 years old was also without effect. When he was 12 years old several fibroangiomas on the face and left lower limb were excised. Within three months all biochemical abnormalities resolved and radiologic evidence of healing was observed. A portion of excised tissue was homogenized and injection of the supernate into a 6-week-old puppy induced excessive phosphaturia. The data suggest that the rickets was induced by a phosphaturic substance extractable from the tumors.