Behavioral Emergencies in EMS: Assessment, De-Escalation, and Patient Safety
Emergency responders manage behavioral and psychiatric symptoms on nearly every shift: anxiety before transport, agitation caused by hypoxia, or combativeness related to intoxication or altered mental status. These behavioral cues rarely represent isolated “psychiatric problems.” They often signal unmet physiologic needs, organic disease, or environmental stressors that require clinical attention. Behavior always has a cause. […]