For its management , experts agreed in considering  verbal de-escalation  and  environmental modification techniques  as first choice , considering physical restraint as a last resort strategy .
BACKGROUND Psychomotor agitation is associated with different psychiatric conditions and represents an important issue in psychiatry .
Current recommendations on agitation in psychiatry are not univocal .
Actually , an improper assessment and management may result in unnecessary coercive or sedative treatments .
A thorough and balanced review plus an expert consensus can guide assessment and treatment decisions .
A quantifiable, Brief Mental Status Examination for emergency patients.
Although paramedics and emergency department ( ED ) personnel are routinely required to assess the mental states of patients they are attempting to treat , no structured and easily administered tool has been vali date d for their use . The objective of this study was to determine whether a quantitative Brief Mental Status Examination ( BMSE ) can serve as such a tool . The six-item BMSE was administered to 100 ED patients for whom an assessment of mental status was warranted . The st and ard assessment of mental status ( normal , mildly impaired , or severely impaired ) and competence to refuse emergency care were provided by the attending physician . The usefulness and ease of administration of the BMSE were rated by the physicians and nurses administering it . We found that BMSE scores correlated significantly with physicians ' assessment s of patients ' mental status and competence to refuse care . Using physician assessment as a st and ard , the BMSE had a sensitivity of 72 % and a specificity of 95 % in identifying severely impaired individuals . Examiners ' ratings of ease of administration were closely related to the degree of impairment found . Finally , examiners rated the BMSE as useful in 98 % of cases . We conclude from these preliminary results that the BMSE , upon further testing , may prove to be a valid and useful tool for assessing the mental states of emergency patients in both prehospital and ED setting
For its management , experts agreed in considering  verbal de-escalation  and  environmental modification techniques  as first choice , considering physical restraint as a last resort strategy .
BACKGROUND Psychomotor agitation is associated with different psychiatric conditions and represents an important issue in psychiatry .
Current recommendations on agitation in psychiatry are not univocal .
Actually , an improper assessment and management may result in unnecessary coercive or sedative treatments .
A thorough and balanced review plus an expert consensus can guide assessment and treatment decisions .