We present the case of an aggressive male patient who was unable to be successfully sedated with conventional medications in the ED and ultimately required intubation to ensure the safety of the patient himself and the staff. After admission to the ICU, he was found to have atrophy of the frontal and bilateral lobes secondary to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) 19 years prior. Managing the patient required collaboration with the intensivist, hospitalist, and psychiatry and neurology teams for 10 months, and he was refused admission to multiple psychiatric facilities due to safety concerns because of his high level of aggression and unpredictability. An out-of-state, high-security facility eventually accepted the patient. The second challenge was finding a highly trained medical team willing to transport the patient. This case illustrates the difficulty and safety concerns with regard to managing an aggressive patient with previous TBI when the commonly used medications do not produce the desired effect. A literature search did not reveal a standard protocol or consensus on managing these types of patients in emergent situations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.