Nursing care for patients in psychiatric emergencies: integrative review

Introduction: The psychiatric emergency is characterized by a situation of crisis, emotional destabilization, disturbance, conflicts, mental disorder and anguish for both the patient and his family. Objective: To analyze nursing care in the care of patients in psychiatric emergencies. Methodology: This is an integrative review. The search for articles was conducted in the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and the databases Latin American Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), International Literature in Health Sciences (MEDLINE) and the Nursing Database (BDENF) using the descriptors Nursing Care, Psychiatric Emergency, Mental Health and Emergencies. Articles available in full in the Portuguese language between the months of January 2008 to January 2018, And, excluded monographs, dissertations and case reports. Results: The care provided by nurses in psychiatric emergencies shows that they are generalists, emphasizing only basic assistance, such as comfort measures, ambulation, medication administration, that is, not treating the mentally ill according to their particularities. Conclusion: Nursing care with patients in psychiatric emergency situations is very focused on clinical issues, focusing on the use of force through physical restraint, in order to control the psychiatric patient's exacerbated behavior.