Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Unusual diagnoses among violent patients

K Tardiff1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York, USA.

The Psychiatric Clinics of North America
|October 17, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Firearm suicide in New York City in the 1990s.

Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention·2006
Same author

Epidemiology of violence and mental illness.

Epidemiologia e psichiatria sociale·2001
Same author

Childhood trauma as a correlate of lifetime opiate use in psychiatric patients.

Addictive behaviors·2000
Same author

Human immunodeficiency virus among trauma patients in New York City.

Annals of emergency medicine·1998
Same author

Ambient temperature and mortality from unintentional cocaine overdose.

JAMA·1998
Same author

The prevalence of aborted suicide attempts among psychiatric in-patients.

Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica·1998

Rare medical conditions can cause sudden violent behavior, which is unusual given the patient's history. Prompt medical and psychiatric evaluations are crucial for diagnosing and treating these rare but treatable "zebras" of medical illness.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Psychiatry
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Sudden violent behavior is rarely caused by medical disorders.
  • When medical conditions manifest as violence, it is often dramatic and inconsistent with the individual's prior behavior.

Observation:

  • Medical and neurological symptoms may accompany violence.
  • Occasionally, only psychiatric symptoms like aggression and violence are present.
  • This highlights the necessity of comprehensive medical and psychiatric assessments for individuals with recent violent behavior.

Findings:

  • Most violent episodes are attributed to common causes ('horses').
  • Rare underlying medical conditions ('zebras') can precipitate violence.
  • These 'zebra' conditions are frequently treatable.

Related Experiment Videos

Implications:

  • Emphasizes the importance of considering organic causes for unexplained aggression.
  • Highlights the need for thorough differential diagnosis in cases of sudden violent behavior.
  • Underscores that identifying rare medical conditions can lead to effective treatment and improved patient outcomes.