How to manage agitation and aggression in emergency service

Visits of children and adolescents for mental health problems to emergency departments have increased markedly in recent years. Acute agitation and aggressive behaviors are common presentations in emergency departments and may be associated with various psychiatric and medical conditions. Diagnosing and treating the underlying medical-psychiatric conditions are essential to the management of agitation and aggressive behavior. Psychotic conditions are common causes of agitation among individuals attending to the emergency departments. This presentation will focus on the current approach for the prevention and management of agitation and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents, which is particularly related psychosis in emergency departments. The use of physical restraint and chemical restraint will be presented, and procedures for carrying out each of these interventions will be mentioned in this presentation.