Acute interventions for aggression and agitation in psychosis: study protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis

NANDA nursing diagnoses associated with the occurrence of psychomotor agitation in patients with severe mental disorder: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Psychomotor agitation is increased psychomotor activity, restlessness and irritability. People with psychomotor agitation respond by overreacting to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, experiencing stress and/or cognitive impairment. the aim was to analyse the association of nursing diagnoses with the disinhibition dimension, the aggressiveness dimension and the lability dimension of the Corrigan Agitated Behaviour Scale.

METHODS

This study was conducted in Spain using a multicentre cross-sectional convenience sample of 140 patients who had been admitted to psychiatric hospital units and had presented an episode of psychomotor agitation between 2018 and 2021.

RESULTS

The Corrigan Agitated Behaviour Scale was used to assess psychomotor agitation. Associated nursing diagnoses, violence directed at professionals and the environment are shown to be predictive values for the severity of the agitation episode. Moderate-severe psychomotor agitation episodes are shown as predictors of violence directed mainly at professionals and the environment.

CONCLUSIONS

There is an urgent need for mental health nurses to have knowledge of the extended clinic in order to care for users and improve their health conditions in dealing with people, with their social, subjective and biological dimension.

Clinical and Sociodemographic Profile of Psychomotor Agitation in Mental Health Hospitalisation: A Multicentre Study

Psychomotor agitation is characterised by an increase in psychomotor activity, restlessness and irritability. People with psychomotor agitation respond by over-reacting to both intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, experiencing stress and/or altered cognition. The objective of this study is to assess the clinical and sociodemographic profile of psychomotor agitation in patients with severe mental disorders. The study was carried out in Spain by means of multicentre cross-sectional convenience sampling involving 140 patients who had been admitted to psychiatric hospital units and had experienced an episode of psychomotor agitation between 2018 and 2021.Corrigan's Agitated Behaviour Scale was used to assess psychomotor agitation. The results show that the predominant characteristic in psychomotor agitation is aggressiveness, which is also the most reported factor in patients with severe mental disorder. Patients who also have anxiety develop psychomotor agitation symptoms of moderate/severe intensity. The clinical and sociodemographic profile found in our study is consistent with other studies on the prevalence of psychomotor agitation.

A comparison of aggression between patients with acute schizophrenia and mania presenting to psychiatric emergency services

OBJECTIVE

Aggression is common and challenging in psychiatric emergency departments (PED). However, the prevalence of aggression and its correlates in PED patients are not well documented. This study compared the prevalence of aggression between patients with acute schizophrenia and manic episodes.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, patients at a psychiatric emergency department were assessed with measurements of aggression, psychotic and manic symptoms.

RESULTS

A total of 4,172 patients were included. The prevalence of aggression was 54.8% (95%CI=53.3%-65.2%) in the whole sample, with 48.0% (95%CI=45.8%-50.1%) in patients with an acute schizophrenia episode, and 61.8% (95%CI=59.8%-63.9%) in patients with a manic episode. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that, within the acute schizophrenia episode group, male gender (OR=1.47, P<0.01), involuntary admission (OR=3.61, P<0.01) and more severe manic symptoms (OR=1.30, P<0.01) were significantly associated with aggression. Within the manic episode group, living in Beijing (OR=1.51, P<0.01), unemployment (OR=1.34, P=0.03), involuntary admission (OR=7.93, P<0.01), lower education (OR=0.95, P=0.01) and more severe psychotic symptoms (OR=1.05, P<0.01) were significantly associated with aggression.

CONCLUSION

In this study, aggression appeared to be more common among patients with a manic episode than those with an acute schizophrenia episode. Considering the significant risk of aggression on psychiatric emergency care, appropriate and effective management of aggression in this population group need to be developed.

Psychometric Characteristics and Sociodemographic Adaptation of the Corrigan Agitated Behavior Scale in Patients With Severe Mental Disorders

Background: Severe mental disorder (SMD) is understood in a first approximation as a disorder of thought, emotion, or behavior of long duration, which entails a variable degree of disability and social dysfunction. One of the most widely used assessment scales for agitated behavior, in its English version, is the Corrigan Agitated Behavior Scale (ABS); several studies have demonstrated solid psychometric properties of the English version, with adequate internal consistency. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the ABS Corrigan scale, in a sample of patients with severe mental disorders. The psychometric analyses of the Spanish version of the ABS Corrigan included tests of the reliability and validity of its internal structure. Results: The structure of the factorial loads of the analyzed elements is consistent with the hypothesized three-dimensional construction referred to in the original ABS. The results suggest that the reliability and validity of the three dimensions are acceptable (First 0.8, Second 0.8, and Third 0.7). The internal consistency of the Spanish version of the complete ABS and of each of the three domains that compose it is high, with values very close to those found in the original version, with approximate figures of 0.9. Conclusion: In our study, the three domains aim to explain 64.1% of the total variance of the scale, which exceeds the 50% found in the original version.

Agitation in schizophrenia: origins and evidence-based treatment

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Agitation associated with schizophrenia remains an important clinical concern and if not managed effectively, can escalate into aggressive behavior. This is a review of the recent biomedical literature on agitation in individuals with schizophrenia.

RECENT FINDINGS

Themes in the recent literature include consideration of comorbidities such as cigarette smoking and cannabis use. Surveys reveal that pharmacological approaches to manage agitation have changed little, with haloperidol remaining in common use and intramuscular administration of antipsychotics and/or benzodiazepines being frequently administered to more severely agitated/aggressive individuals. Of note, ketamine has been recently adopted for use in severe agitation in medical emergency departments, but the risk of this medication for people with schizophrenia is unclear. At present, inhaled loxapine remains the only rapidly acting noninjectable FDA-approved treatment for agitation associated with schizophrenia. In development is an intranasal formulation for olanzapine (a well characterized atypical antipsychotic already approved to treat agitation) and a sublingual film for dexmedetomidine (an α2-adrenergic agonist used as an anesthetic and now being repurposed).

SUMMARY

Comorbidities can contribute to agitation and can make an accurate differential diagnosis challenging. The ongoing development of rapidly acting novel formulations of antiagitation medications, if successful, may facilitate clinical treatment by providing additional options.