General psychiatric approach
Background
Clinical Features
Mental Status Exam
- General Appearance
- Orientation and Attention
- Speech
- Mood and affect
- Thought Patterns (process, content)
- Psychomotor behavior
- Insight and Judgement
Differential Diagnosis
General Psychiatric
- Organic causes
- Psychiatric causes
Diagnosis
General ED Psychiatric Workup
- Point-of-care glucose
- CBC
- Chem 7
- LFTs
- ECG (for toxicology evaluation)
- ASA level
- Tylenol level
- Urine toxicology screen/Blood toxicology screen
- EtOH
- Urine pregnancy/beta-hCG (if female of childbearing age)
- Consider:
- Ammonia (see Hepatic encephalopathy)
- TSH (hypo or hyperthyroidism may mimic mental illness)
- CXR (for Tb screen or rule-out delirium in older patient)
- UA (for rule-out delirium in older patients)
- Head CT (to rule-out ICH in patients with AMS)
- Lumbar puncture (to rule-out meningitis or encephalitis)