Suicidal behavior is among the most critical of medical emergencies for adolescents. Among US youth aged 15 to 24 years, intentional self-harm (suicide) is the second leading cause of death and accounted for 6807 deaths in 2018. Recent statistics are ominous regarding significant increases in suicidal behavior among adolescents; from 2009 and 2019, there were significant increases in the prevalence of those who reported having seriously considered attempting suicide (13.8% to 18.8%) and having attempted suicide (6.3% to 8.9%). These increases occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. A study that evaluated emergency department visits for suspected suicidal behavior among persons aged 12 to 25 years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic found that the mean number of weekly visits for suspected suicide attempts increased from February through March 2021, compared with the same period in 2019, with a 50.6% increase among girls and a 3.7% increase among boys.
