Self-harm in the prison system

Self-harm is a much more common pathology within the prison environment than outside of this, so much so that it can be considered specific to it. For 7 years, in the biggest prison hospital in Romania, self-harm was present in 5% of the hospitalized patients, with a total of 762 cases. The mechanisms of self-harm were the ingestion of foreign bodies (63%) and the insertion of foreign bodies in: the soft parts (19%), intracranially (6%), intraabdominally (2%) and intrathoracically (2%). Metal bodies are the most commonly used in self-harm (over 90%). The self-harm technique is learnt from the inmates with a history of such incidents. The mortality is low (0.4%), refusal of treatment is found in 13% of cases, and recurrence of self-harm is common where the ingestion and intracranial insertion of foreign bodies occurs (42%-50%). Mental disorders, dominated by personality disorders, are found in 46% of patients.