Journal article

Randomized clinical trial comparing intravenous midazolam and droperidol for sedation of the acutely agitated patient in the emergency department

JC Knott, DM Taylor, DJ Castle

ANNALS OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE | MOSBY, INC | Published : 2006

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We compare intravenous midazolam and droperidol for the onset of sedation of acutely agitated patients in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a double-blind, randomized, clinical trial set in the ED of a university teaching hospital. Subjects were adults, acutely agitated because of mental illness, intoxication, or both, who received midazolam or droperidol, 5 mg intravenously, every 5 minutes until sedated. We analyzed time to sedation using survival analysis, median times to sedation, and proportions sedated at 5 and 10 minutes. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients received midazolam; 79 patients, droperidol. Survival analysis showed no difference in time to sedatio..

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