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Chapter 14 - Psychomotor Agitation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2025

By
Olusegun Adebisi Popoola  and
Nidal Moukaddam
Edited by
Marsal Sanches  and
Jair C. Soares
Marsal Sanches
Affiliation:
McGovern Medical School, Texas
Jair C. Soares
Affiliation:
McGovern Medical School, Texas
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Summary

Agitation is an umbrella term for a spectrum of behaviors characterized by increased motor activity, restlessness, and emotional tension. Agitation is a cause of morbidity and complications during emergency center or hospital stays. The etiology of agitation states can be medical, psychiatric, substance or medication related, or as a result of delirium, and can be exacerbated by environmental factors. The goals of agitation assessment and management are (1) to ensure the safety of the patient and other individuals present, (2) the identification of risk factors (and cause, if possible) for psychomotor agitation, and (3) the implementation of the appropriate treatment in a timely and efficient manner. Pharmacological and nonpharmacological management strategies are needed for proper management, and teams should always start with verbal de-escalation and environmental modifications, followed by least-invasive means of administration of pharmacological agents, and potentially advancing to seclusion and restraints. Special considerations should be assessed in children, elderly, pregnant women, and those with medically unstable pictures who present with agitation, keeping in mind that delirium is underdiagnosed and goals of treatment must be customized.

Keywords

agitationdeliriumantipsychoticsverbal de-escalationrestraunts/seclusion
Type
Chapter
Information
Fundamentals of Clinical Psychiatry
A Practical Handbook
 , pp. 123 - 133
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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