Dr. McCormick presents a brief case of a woman with transient confusion and an uncommon diagnosis. Probably going to be a diagnosis of exclusion... but can definitely add to your differential diagnosis!
A 42 year old female presents to the ED with lower abdominal cramping. She tells you that she went to her primary yesterday and “they did absolutely nothing for me”.
Agitated patients can be hugely disruptive, time-consuming to care for, a danger to themselves and/or staff - they are also often some of the sickest patients we see!
A high-yield review of the past week on EMDaily
Excited delirium syndrome is a pathophysiologic progression that Emergency Medicine physicians are exposed to daily. While the initial management often takes place in the pre-hospital setting, these patients are at high risk of respiratory and cardiac arrest if proper management is not continued after hitting our doors. Despite a growing awareness of excited delirium syndrome and it's associated increased risk of death, the majority of the 250 annual deaths from this entity occur while in police custody.
