A practical guide to the origins and treatment options for agitation, a common symptom of psychiatric and neurologic disorders.

1. Agitation: where we're going, where we've been Scott L. Zeller; 2. The biology of agitation Scott A. Simpson; 3. Medical evaluation of the agitated patient Seth Thomas and Nathan Beckerman; 4. Agitation due to substance use, abuse, and withdrawal Alexander Schorb and Heinz Grunze; 5. Medical causes of patients with agitation: systemic illness Sandra Schneider; 6. Special populations: agitation in elderly patients Eric L. Anderson; 7. The psychiatric evaluation of patients with agitation Joachim Scharfetter; 8. Psychiatric causes of agitation: exacerbation of personality disorders Paul R. Borghesani, Sharon Romm and Jagoda Pasic; 9. Psychiatric causes of agitation: exacerbation of mood and psychotic disorders Marina Garriga, Isabella Pacchiarotti, Miquel Bernardo and Eduard Vieta; 10. Collaborative de-escalation Jon S. Berlin; 11. Agitation in field settings: emergency medical providers and law enforcement Thom Dunn and Charles Dempsey; 12. Use of force in the prehospital environment Yuko Nakajima and Gary M. Vilke; 13. Appropriate use of restraint and seclusion Naomi Schmelzer; 14. Pharmacologic treatment of agitation Leslie Citrome; 15. Understanding the environmental, social, familial, and cultural context of agitation Julien J. Cavanagh de Carvalho; 16. The ethics of agitation: when is an agitated patient decisionally capable? David Pepper and Michael P. Wilson; 17. Patient rights, patient and family perspectives on agitation Phyllis Foxworth; 18. Diagnosis and management of agitation in children and adolescents John S. Rozel, Keith R. Stowell and Gregory D. Thorkelson.