This user-friendly resource presents a patient-centered approach to managing the growing incidence of major psychiatric emergencies in the outpatient setting. Abundant illustrations, tables, and algorithms guide you through the wide range of disorders discussed, and a color-coded outline format facilitates rapid access to essential information necessary for making a proper diagnosis for optimal management outcomes. - Organizes information by patient presentation to help you distinguish among conditions that present with similar symptoms. - Discusses medical conditions presenting with psychiatric symptoms, where appropriate. - Highlights critical information in "Hazard Signs" boxes for quick, at-a-glance review. - Uses acronyms and memory aids to enhance recall of information in moments of crisis. - Features a chapter discussing the psychiatric effects of bioterrorism. - Offers an Improved Suicide Risk Scale with criteria on impulsivity, plan, and lethal level of attempt. - Provides valuable tips on interviewing and interacting with patients in various situations, as techniques will vary from depressed suicidal patients to manic and potentially assaultive individuals. - Includes appendixes that discuss common psychiatric medications used and important lab values in the ER.

This handbook is a practical, quick-reference guide to the evaluation and management of acute psychiatric symptoms seen in emergency departments and inpatient psychiatric and medical-surgical units. The book presents a step-by-step approach to each symptom, beginning with a list of questions necessary for initial assessment and proceeding to psychopharmacologic interventions, DSM-IV-TR criteria, differential diagnosis, and disposition guidelines. Additional chapters address safety concerns, the mental status examination, use of restraints and seclusion, child and elder abuse, and special needs of children, adolescents, geriatric patients, mentally retarded individuals, and patients with HIV. A chapter on legal and forensic issues is also included.

The second edition of Clinical Manual of Emergency Psychiatry is designed to help medical students, residents, and clinical faculty chart an appropriate course of treatment in a setting where an incorrect assessment can have life-or-death implications. Arranged by chief complaint rather than by psychiatric diagnosis, each chapter combines the fresh insights of an accomplished psychiatry trainee with the more seasoned viewpoint of a senior practitioner in the field, providing a richly integrated perspective on the challenges and rewards of caring for patients in the psychiatric emergency department. This newly revised edition presents current approaches to evaluation, treatment, and management of patients in crisis, including up-to-date guidelines on use of pharmacotherapy in the emergency setting; suicide risk assessment; evaluation of patients with abnormal mood, psychosis, acute anxiety, agitation, cognitive impairment, and/or substance-related emergencies; and care of children and adolescents. The editors have created an accessible text with many useful features: * A chapter devoted to effective strategies for teaching, mentoring, and supervision of trainees in the psychiatry emergency service.* Chapters focused on assessment of risk for violence in patients, determination of the need for seclusion or restraint, and navigation of the legal and ethical issues that arise in the emergency setting.* Clinical vignettes that contextualize the information provided, allowing readers to envision applicable clinical scenarios and thereby internalize important concepts more quickly* Constructive "take-home" points at the end of each chapter that summarize key information and caution against common clinical errors.* References and suggested readings to help readers pursue a deeper understanding of concepts and repair any gaps in knowledge. Emergency psychiatry is one of the most stressful and challenging areas of practice for the psychiatric clinician. The guidelines and strategies outlined in Clinical Manual of Emergency Psychiatry, Second Edition, will help psychiatric trainees and educators alike to make sense of the complex clinical situations they encounter and guide them to advance their skills as clinicians and educators.

This practical volume has been written to provide the insights and tools you need to organize and administer psychiatric emergency services. The vital areas of managing psychiatric emergency services are explored, including recordkeeping, budgeting, and protocols. This expertly-edited and clearly written book will be an invaluable resource for mental health professionals and students from all fields--psychiatry, psychology, nursing, and social work--who are involved in the delivery of emergency psychiatric services.

Poverty, substandard medical care, social neglect or withdrawal, unhealthy lifestyle -- these are just some of the contributors to the substantial morbidity of patients with severe mental illness. Medical deteriorations are often unexpected and severe, and particularly difficult to evaluate in the context of psychotic disorders. For this new edition, the Handbook of Medicine in Psychiatry has been updated and streamlined to provide a realistic approach to the medical issues encountered in psychiatric practice by helping clinicians answer whether their patient: Is at risk of dying or becoming severely disabled. Requires an immediate therapeutic intervention for a potentially life-threatening condition. Needs to be transferred to an emergency medicine setting. Requires urgent investigations. Must have changes made in the current medication regimen. Clinical vignettes for each chapter illustrate the complexity of the presentation of abnormal vital signs and somatic disorders in psychiatric settings, including fever, hypertension, seizures, and nausea and vomiting. The guide also provides risk stratification for major complications -- from abnormal thyroid function and acute kidney injury to myocarditis and venous thromboembolism -- enabling readers to determine the need for a transfer of the patient to an emergency medicine setting. A brand-new section features thorough discussions of topics requiring interdisciplinary collaboration with geriatricians, neurologists, anesthesiologists, addiction medicine, and adolescent medicine specialists. Clinicians working in today's busy inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings will find in these pages a cognitive framework and knowledge base that will aid them in accurate decision making in the conditions of uncertainty created by potentially major medical deteriorations of the vulnerable populations under their care.

Fully revised and updated, the Oxford Handbook of Emergency Medicine is the definitive, best-selling guide for all of the common conditions that present to the emergency department. Whether you work in emergency medicine, or just want to be prepared, this book will be your essential guide. Following the latest clinical guidelines and evidence, written and reviewed by experts, this handbook will ensure you are up to date and have the confidence to deal with all emergency presentations, practices, and procedures. In line with the latest developments in the field, such as infection control, DNR orders, advanced directives and learning disability, the book also includes new sections specifically outlining patient advice and information, as well as new and revised vital information on paediatrics and psychiatry. For all junior doctors, specialist nurses, paramedics, clinical students, GPs and other allied health professionals, this rapid-reference handbook will become a vital companion for both study and practice.

This is a quick reference book for the management of psychiatric medical emergencies. The book is aimed at practicing psychiatrists, residents, students, social workers, nurses and any other mental health professsional in the accident and emergency department.