Several psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, may be associated with symptoms of acute agitation and aggression. While drug treatment of agitation is often essential, non-pharmacological interventions, both environmental and behavioral, also play important roles in the complex management of agitated patients. The most extensively used psychotropic drugs are parenteral formulas of conven...

Agitation is a psychomotor disturbance characterized by a marked increase in motor and psychological activity in a patient. It occurs very frequently in the intensive care setting. It may be isolated, or accompanied by other mental disorders, such as severe anxiety and delirium. Frequently, agitation is a sign of brain dysfunction and, as such, may have adverse consequences, for at least two re...

Her father brought this female child to the Accident and Emergency Department with history of acute confusion for paediatric assessment. The child had been agitated for the last 12 hours, was difficult to settle and kept saying, “don’t want it”. She had previously been well. On examination she was agitated, apyrexial and constantly talking with heart rate of 148/min. Her pupils were dilated but...

A total of 124 subjects who were undergoing routine endoscopy were randomly assigned to one of three groups. All three groups received lignocaine throat spray. The first group additionally received midazolam, the second received hypnosis, whilst the third only received lignocaine throat spray. Although hypnotized patients were deemed by an independent observer to be less agitated than the other...

OBJECTIVE Aeromedical retrieval services face the difficult problem of appropriate levels of sedation for transport of acutely agitated patients to definitive care. This paper describes a technique using ketamine, which is titratable and avoids problems associated with airway management. METHOD A 3-year review of a new technique of ketamine sedation by aeromedical retrieval teams from the Cai...

Tiagabine is an anticonvulsant acting by selective inhibition of neuronal and glial gamma-aminobutyric acid uptake, resulting in increased gamma-aminobutyric acid-mediated inhibition in the brain. Few reports in the literature describe the clinical course of severe tiagabine intoxication. A 44-year-old woman presented after deliberate self-poisoning with 100 tiagabine 15 mg tablets (1,500 mg; 2...

Bathing creates some of the highest levels of discomfort in the lives of individuals diagnosed with dementia. The present study measured the frequency of 14 agitated behaviors during bathing in 15 elderly residents with dementia residing in a continuing care center. Each resident was observed for four sessions of two different bathing methods, the conventional tub bath and a modification of the...