PSYCHIATRIC EMERCENCIES

 

PSYCHIATRIC EMERCENCIES

An in psychiatry means any event that would lead to disturbance of thought, feeling, action that may need urgent or immediate attention, remedy or treatment to be given to sufferer.

 

TYPES OF EMERGENCIES

A)    PSYCHOLOGICAL EMERGENCIES

 

o   Acute depression

o   Automatism/fugue state

o   Violence

o   Acute anxiety

o   Anorexia nervosa

o   Insomnia

o   Migraine headache

o   Paranoid state/schizophrenia

o   Catatonic stupor

o   Catatonic excitement

o   Hyperventilation

o   Suicidal attempt

 

B)     ORGANIC/PHYSICAL EMERGENCIES

o   Stroke

o   Drug intoxication

o   Drug withdrawal/derilium tremens

o   Alcoholic hallucinosis

o   Kosakoff’s syndrome

o   Hypertensive crisis

o   Status epilepticus

 

          

MANAGEMENT

Most of these conditions will be managed according to the presentation and causative or contributing factors.

 

Always consider identifying the cause and then remove it.

For a panic and violent patient quickly sedate the patient with IV/IM diazepam 10-20mg in order to avoid injury or damage to people and property.

 

Long acting neuroleptic drugs be given in psychotic behavior.

Long acting anxiolitic drugs be administered in anxiety and panic states

Antidepressants should be given in depressive patients.

Anticonvulsants be administered in status epilepticus and other convulsive disorders

 

 

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