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

Abstract

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.

Alternative Approaches for Addressing Acute Agitation in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

“…1,5 Not all patients who are agitated become aggressive or violent, and not all events of aggression or violence are preceded by agitation, but escalation of severity of agitation can lead to aggression or violence. 1 In a study 6 of patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital, more than 90% experienced moderate to severe levels of aggressivity during an episode of agitation, and while most psychiatric patients are not violent, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder increase the risk of violence. 7 Prevalence of aggressive or violent behavior is higher among patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, approximately 10%-12% varying by population, than in the general population, approximately 2%.…”

Desenvolvimento e avaliação de um website informativo sobre manejo de pessoas com Agitação Psicomotora com ou sem Comportamento Agressivo para Técnico de Enfermagem

“…A literatura descreve ainda que a Agitação Psicomotora pode estar associada a alguns fatores de riscos como ser do sexo masculino, com idade menor de 40 anos, solteiro, baixa escolaridade/nível socioeconômico e envolvimento familiar com alcoolismo, baixa frustração, baixa cooperação em tratamentos anteriores e baixa autoestima, medo, ansiedade e história previa de Comportamento Agressivo (Vieta et al, 2017;Garrote-Câmara et al, 2022).…”

“…(bipolar e esquizofrenia) e com doenças neurológicas (demência) com Agitação Psicomotora está entre 10% e 50% (Pacciardi et al, 2013;Garrote-Câmara et al, 2022).…”

“…Em relação ao perfil dos usuários que apresentam o quadro, estudo prévio indica que, em um serviço de emergências psiquiátricas, 63% das pessoas com Agitação Psicomotora eram do sexo masculino e o quadro apresentado relacionava-se ao abuso de substâncias, embora geralmente estivesse associado a esquizofrenia e bipolaridade (San et al, 2016;Garrote-Câmara et al, 2022).…”