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Mental health (patients)

Mapping medical clearance of psychiatric ED patients

Medical Screening of Adult Psychiatric Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department
Annals of Emergency Medicine · Added 20 August 2026

Scoping review mapping medical screening practices for adult psychiatric patients presenting to ED — identified 8 themes (laboratory testing, history taking, vital signs, physical examination, diagnostic imaging, screening tools, ECG, system-level factors), with society recommendations discouraging routine lab testing.

Study type

Systematic review

Design

Scoping review with thematic analysis

Participants

145 publications; 62 original studies covering 34,836 patients and 1,149 clinicians

Main finding

Eight screening themes identified; laboratory testing most studied (62.9% of original studies); most society recommendations discourage routine laboratory testing

Caveat

Predominantly retrospective original studies; no assessment of diagnostic accuracy

Bottom line

Context only

Learning goal

Weigh the value of routine laboratory screening when assessing adult psychiatric patients before ED handover.

More

• Topic: Mental health (patients)
• Daily scan: 20 August 2026

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