Citation

Shaikh U, Qamar I, Jafry F, Hassan M, Shagufta S, Odhejo YI, Ahmed S. Front. Psychiatry 2017; 8: e136.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Frontiers Media)

DOI

10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00136

PMID

28824467

PMCID

PMC5543278

Abstract

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients, when in crisis, are frequent visitors of emergency departments (EDs). When these patients exhibit symptoms such as aggressiveness, impulsivity, intense anxiety, severe depression, self-harm, and suicidal attempts or gestures, diagnosis, and treatment of the BPD becomes challenging for ED doctors. This review will, therefore, outline advice to physicians and health-care providers who face this challenging patient population in the EDs. Crisis intervention should be the first objective of clinicians when dealing with BPD in the emergency. For the patients with agitation, symptom-specific pharmacotherapy is usually recommended, while for non-agitated patients, short but intensive psychotherapy especially dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has a positive effect. Although various psychotherapies, either alone or integrated, are preferred modes of treatment for this group of patients, the effects of psychotherapies on BPD outcomes are small to medium. Proper risk management along with developing a positive attitude and empathy toward these patients will help them in normalizing in an emergency setting after which treatment course can be decided.

Language: en

Keywords

psychotherapy; suicidality; aggression; borderline personality disorder; impulsivity; emergency psychiatry; cluster B personality disorders; psychosocial issues