Table 6.

Common and potentially life-threatening aetiologies of the acutely agitated patient[16]

Toxicological	Metabolic
Alcohol intoxication or withdrawal	Hypoglycemia
Stimulant intoxication	Hyperglycemia/diabetic ketoacidosis
Other drugs or drug reactions	Hypoxia
Neurologic	Hyper/hyponatremia
Stroke	Other medical conditions
Intracranial lesion (e.g., hemorrhage, tumor)	Hyperthyroidism/thyroid storm
CNS infection	Shock syndromes
Seizure disorder	AIDS
Dementia	Hypothermia or hyperthermia
Psychiatric
Psychosis
Schizophrenia
Paranoid delusional disorder
Personality disorder
Antisocial behavior

CNS – Central nervous system; AIDS – Acquired immune deficiency syndrome