Review article
Emergency Psychiatry
Dunja Degmečić
Abstract
Emergency conditions in psychiatry are characterized by acute disorders of cognition, affectivity, behaviour and interpersonal functioning. Symptoms and conditions behind psychiatric emergencies require immediate psychiatric interventions. Emergency conditions requiring psychiatric interventions may include attempted suicide, acute psychotic episodes, acute anxiety attacks, violence or other rapid changes in behaviour, psychomotoric agitation or aggression, delirium, drug intoxication and malignant neuroleptic syndrome. In this paper, the mentioned emergency conditions as well as the treatment recommendations are explained in detail. The therapeutic aim in emergency psychiatry encompasses crisis stabilization and prevention of potentially life-threatening conditions in a shortest time possible. The mostly used emergency medication consists of a combination of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines.
Keywords
emergency states; psychiatry; suicidality; agitation; aggression; delirium; intoxication; malignant neuroleptic syndrome
Hrčak ID:
189047
URI
Publication date:
8.11.2017.
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