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Acute behavioral disturbance is an umbrella term referring to various conditions of medical emergency where a person behaves in a manner that may put themselves or others at risk. It is not a formal diagnosis. Another controversial term, excited delirium, is sometimes used interchangeably with ABD.
According to the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine, ABD can be caused by a number of conditions including psychosis , substance abuse, hypoglycemia, akathisia, hypoxia, head injury as well as other conditions.
Treatment generally consists of verbal deescalation, voluntary sedation with antipsychotics or benzodiazepine, or involuntary treatment with antipsychotics, benzodiazepines or ketamine through intramuscular injection as a means of chemical restraint through rapid tranquilization possibly combined with physical restraint.