Acute Behavioural Disturbance (ABD), one of the most challenging, dangerous and serious presentations that we will encounter in emergency management of patients.

There is no widely accepted definition of ABD. Really it’s an umbrella term for a patient presenting with a triad of features, secondary to a specific underlying cause, made up of;

• Delirium
• Severe agitation and aggressive behaviour
• Autonomic dysfunction

In this episode we're going to run through ABD, it's causes, the approach and investigation. Excellent management of these cases relies upon high quality team working, planning, communications and strategies to keep all involved safe and we'll be discussing each of those in turn.

Enjoy!

Simon, Rob & James