[The emergency treatment of the psychotic patient]

Psychosis can cause multiple psychiatric and somatic emergencies. Due to the complex character of the disease the communication and accessibility of the patient can be severely disturbed. In the pre-clinical emergency medical care the etiology of a psychosis remains often unclear, the most common causes are schizophrenia and drug-induced psychosis. Frequent emergencies are states of psychomotor agitation, self-endangerment and endangerment of others including suicidal tendencies/acts as well as catatonic and manic states. Antipsychotic drugs and benzodiazepines are the most efficient pharmacotherapeutic treatments. Extrapyramidal side effects of the prescribed medication can also cause the need for urgent medical care. In any case needs to be considered a severe somatic comorbidity. It is particularly necessary that all available information at the scene of emergency should be transferred to the clinicians since the further diagnostic and therapeutic assessment will rely hereon.