Discredited term used to describe people experiencing extreme agitation and aggression.
Deeper Dive
Excited delirium, also known as “excited delirium syndrome,” is a fake diagnosis that has been used by law enforcement, medical examiners and emergency medical professionals to justify the use of force against people who are difficult for police to control.
Among other cases, the term was used in connection with the police killings of Elijah McClain in 2019 and George Floyd in 2020.
Major medical societies including the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have rejected the diagnosis, citing its connection with racist stereotypes. The American College of Emergency Physicians has declared that the term “should not be used among the wider medical and public health community, law enforcement organizations, and ACEP members acting as expert witnesses testifying in relevant civil or criminal litigation.”
However, the college continues to support a similar term, “hyperactive delirium syndrome with severe agitation,” which it called a “potentially life threatening clinical condition characterized by a combination of vital sign abnormalities (e.g., elevated temperature and blood pressure), pronounced agitation, altered mental status, and metabolic derangements.”