The Peregrinating Psychiatric Patient in the Emergency Department
Many emergency department (ED) psychiatric patients present after traveling. Although such travel, or peregrination, has long been associated with factitious disorder, other diagnoses are more common among travelers, including psychotic disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Traveler...
| Published in: | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2016-09-01
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6f5749cb |
| Summary: | Many emergency department (ED) psychiatric patients present after traveling. Although such travel, or peregrination, has long been associated with factitious disorder, other diagnoses are more common among travelers, including psychotic disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Travelers’ intense psychopathology, disrupted social networks, lack of collateral informants, and unawareness of local resources complicate treatment. These patients can consume disproportionate time and resources from emergency providers. We review the literature on the emergency psychiatric treatment of peregrinating patients and use case examples to illustrate common presentations and treatment strategies. Difficulties in studying this population and suggestions for future research are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 1936-900X 1936-9018 |