How is the term “Acute behavioural disturbance” being used in clinical practice?

Acute Behavioural Disturbance (ABD) has been newly included as an “under-recognised syndrome” in the latest Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines, but its use remains controversial in the psychiatric and wider medical literature. This study will look at clinical records to how the term is being used in terms of frequency, which clinical settings and patient groups it is used in and subsequent treatment pathways, and whether this is changing over time.