RT Book, Section
A1 Lommel, Karen M.
A1 Meadows, Amy L.
A1 Chopra, Nitin
A1 Thompson, Slade
A2 Stone, C. Keith
A2 Humphries, Roger L.
SR Print(0)
ID 1176297722
T1 Psychiatric Emergencies
T2 CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Emergency Medicine, 8e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071840613
LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1176297722
RD 2024/04/19
AB Psychiatric  emergencies  are  acute  changes  in  thought  processes  and  behaviors  potentially  impairing  a  patient’s  ability  to  function  in  his  or  her  environment.  Patients  are  in  a  state  of  crisis  in  which  their  baseline  coping  mechanisms  have  been  overwhelmed  by  real  or  perceived  circumstances.  The  most  common  place  for  them  to  be  seen  is  in  the  emergency  department  (ED)  where  providers  need  to  address  potential  medical  issues  creating  psychiatric  manifestations  or  control  the  aggression  for  safe  placement.  The  issue  of  psychiatric  patients  boarding  in  the  ED  has  become  an  increasing  issue  within  the  majority  of  departments  across  the  nation.  Therefore,  we  have  begun  to  see  the  importance  of  the  emergency  medicine  providers  understanding  psychiatric  emergencies,  especially  suicidal  ideation,  psychosis,  and  agitation  with  the  intention  to  begin  treatment  just  as  one  would  with  chest  pain,  respiratory  distress,  or  abdominal  pain.  Not  all  patients  with  mental  illness  need  to  be  seen  by  a  mental  health  provider,  just  as  not  all  chest  pain  patients  need  to  be  seen  by  a  cardiologist.  With  limited  availability  of  mental  health  services,  this  has  become  an  essential  part  of  emergency  medicine.  This  chapter  is  designed  to  help  the  ED  provider  to  understand  psychiatric  illnesses,  assess  suicidality,  and  begin  treatment  for  psychosis  and/or  agitation  while  maintaining  personal,  staff,  and  patient  safety.