Droperidol and midazolam, alone or combined, have similar effects on duration of violent and acute behaviour disturbance in emergency department patients.

摘要

Question: Which drug is most effective at sedation of violent or agitated patients in the emergency department: midazolam, droperidol or a combination of the two? Patients: 79 adults presenting on 91 occasions with violent and acute behavioural disturbance of sufficient severity to require restraint and sedation, as assessed by clinic staff. No exclusions were made on the grounds of suspected cause of behaviour. Most presentations related to alcohol intoxication (70%), 41% were related to deliberate self harm, 9% to drug induced delirium, 5% to acute psychosis and 2% to other causes.