https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2020.1414

Massive pulmonary embolism masked as an episode of acute agitation in a psychiatric patient: a case report

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2021)
Submitted: 30 October 2020
Accepted: 24 November 2020
Published: 28 December 2020
Massive pulmonary embolism., COVID-19.
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Authors

Gabriele Cioni
gabrielec.83@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8918-9836
Emergency Department, SS Cosma and Damiano Pescia Hospital, USL Toscana Centro, Pescia (PT), Italy.
Giacomo Betti
Emergency Department, SS Cosma and Damiano Pescia Hospital, USL Toscana Centro, Pescia (PT), Italy.
Antonio Vergara
Emergency Department, SS Cosma and Damiano Pescia Hospital, USL Toscana Centro, Pescia (PT), Italy.

Management of the psychiatric diseases' reacutization is a frequent occurrence in emergency medicine. During this coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, a further increase in access to the emergency room was reported, and the reasons are numerous. Although the essential prerogative of the emergency department is to provide immediate clinical assistance by rapidly setting an effective diagnostic and therapeutic path, there are multiple obstacles to providing adequate care for Emergency Department patients with mental illness. In this report, we describe the case of a 65-year-old female patient with severe schizophrenia who was evaluated in the emergency room for acute agitation masking subtle, persistent dyspnea. The possibility of an underlying medical cause should not be underestimated or completely forgotten due to the difficult approach to the psychiatric patient.

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How to Cite

Cioni, G., Betti, G., & Vergara, A. (2020). Massive pulmonary embolism masked as an episode of acute agitation in a psychiatric patient: a case report. Italian Journal of Medicine, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2020.1414

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